Kia’s 63 PBV (Platform Beyond Vehicle) centres have taken delivery of the PV5 electric van as the brand makes its debut in the UK light commercial vehicle sector.
With the manufacturer well established in the passenger car sector, Kia’s boss Paul Philpott said the PV5 was in a strong position to make its mark.
“The timing is right for the LCV launch,” Philpott told What Van? “The Kia brand is recognised and has a strong electric vehicle reputation for quality and reliability.”
Philpott said the UK government’s policy was making all van operators prepare to make the transition to electric technology and claimed that through building electric vans from the ground up on its PBV platform, Kia had an advantage over manufacturers that were converting ICE vans to electric power.
With the direction of travel heading towards electrification, however, Philpott said it was “not helpful” when politicians, such as Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch, who has called on the ZEV Mandate to be scrapped, did not support the transition.
He said when considering fossil fuels versus emission-free propulsion “nobody thinks it’s sensible” to choose the former and said it was encouraging the government had extended the Plug-in Van Grant (PiVG) for at least another year.
Philpott claimed that with the charging infrastructure improving, operators were increasingly confident electric vehicles could work for them. The Kia PV5 is offered with a standard-range 51.5kWh or long-range 71.2kWh battery pack, with respective WLTP ranges of 184 miles or 258 miles on a single charge.
Kia has cited the Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo as a rival for the PV5, as well as purpose-built electric vans such as the Farizon SV and new Renault Trafic E-Tech.
However, Philpott said: “We’ll take customers from anyone.”
Available from £27,645, excluding VAT and the PiVG, Philpott said the PV5 was extremely price competitive and claimed customers would be able to secure outstanding value on three-year leasing deals.
In 2026, its first full year on the market, Kia is aiming for at least 3,000 sales of PV5 Cargo in the UK, with the majority going to fleet customers.
Kia describes the PV5 as a large compact van. It will be followed to market in 2027 by the medium-sized PV7 and in 2029 by the large PV9 van.
