It was in March when we got our first look at the Kia EV5 in concept form, and now the carmaker has taken the wraps off the production-spec model at the Chengdu Motor Show in China. The good news is that it has largely retained the identity of its concept like the EV6 and EV9.
The EV5 is Kia’s third model on the E-GMP platform, after the EV6 and EV9, so it’s not a surprise that it also follows a minimalist design philosophy. The silhouette is inspired by the EV9 and gets a minimalist face with large LED DRLs connected by a full-width light bar. Head over to the sides and there’s some chunky bits of cladding all over. At the rear, you get C-shaped LED tail lamps and a two-piece light bar meeting the Kia logo in the middle.
Heading inside, the cabin follows modern Kias in featuring a minimalist dashboard with a large curved display handling infotainment and driver instrumentation duties. Also, Kia claims there are plenty of personalisation options for the interior which includes four interior colours and five seat upholstery patterns. Another cool feature is the 64-colour ambient lighting that can sync with the SUV’s driving modes.
What is still under wraps is the detailed technical specifications of the EV5 under the hood. While we know it’ll be an electric SUV, it should come with single and dual-motor options like the other Kia models based on the E-GMP platform.
The Kia EV5 will first go on sale in China later in 2023 with the SUV making its way to markets abroad in due time. India already has the EV6 and Kia could bring in the EV9 soon considering it was showcased at Auto Expo 2023. As for the EV5, a launch could be expected by 2024.
