The Kia range of PBV all-electric light CVs was given its international debut at the CV Show in Birmingham today, with the unveiling of the PV5.

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Order books will open on 1 May for both commercial and passenger models, with prices starting from £27,645 for the L2H1 variant, the first to reach the market. The launch follows a $3bn (£2.2bn) US investment in electric light CVs.

“The UK CV market is a serious opportunity for Kia,” says Paul Philpott, CEO of Kia UK and Ireland. “Now is the right time to launch in the UK CV sector.”

PV5 will be offered in two lengths, with two heights and two battery options in the UK. Customers will be able to choose from Cargo, Crew and Chassis Cab models, while there will be passenger and wheelchair accessible vehicle variants too. UK customers will be able to choose L2H1 models initially, in either panel van or crew van variants. Chassis cab models will only be available in L2. Panel van L1H1 and L2H2 models will follow in 2026.

There will be a choice of 51.5kWh or 71.2kWh batteries, offering a range of up to 181 miles or 247 miles respectively with L2H1 models. With the standard battery, this will provide a payload of up to 790kg, while opting for the long-range battery will reduce maximum payload to 690kg. The body volume of the L2H1 panel van will be 4.4m3, increasing to 5.1m3 for L2H2 variants. L1H1 models will offer 4.0m3. L2H1 variants will be able to accommodate two euro-pallets.

Kia sees the PV5 as a competitor to models such as the Ford Transit Connect, VW Caddy, Renault Kangoo, Citroën Berlingo, Fiat Doblo Cargo, Peugeot Partner and Vauxhall Combo.

Standard layout will include a nearside sliding side door and twin doors at the rear. A second offside sliding side door will be available as an option.

Crew van variants will only be available in L2H1 format, with two front seats and a three seater rear bench seat, featuring the standard range 51.5kWh battery pack. The second row bench seat can be folded and slid either forward or backwards to provide maximum cargo space or maximum legroom for rear seat passengers, as required.

Kia will offer two grades for the PV5, either Essential or Plus. Essential trim includes 16-inch steel wheels, automatic LED headlights, electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors, body colour bumpers with black moulding, rain sensing wipers, cloth upholstery, manual seat adjustment, driver’s seat armrest, reach and rake adjustable steering wheel, automatic air conditioning, 7.5-inch driver display screen, 12.9-inch touchscreen navigation, console storage box, LED cabin and cargo area lights, under seat storage trays, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, voice recognition, two USB C ports, front and rear parking sensors and reversing camera, regenerative braking paddle adjustment.

Plus grade adds vehicle to load and V2X capability, heated front seats and steering wheel, wireless phone charger, electric folding door mirrors, blind spot collision avoidance, safe exit warning, rear cross traffic collision avoidance and an optional heat pump.

Kia will announce the first 50 PBV centres at the end of May. Most will be operated by existing Kia passenger car dealer partners – 40% will operate from car sites and the rest will be standalone dealerships and van centres. The number of dealers will grow to 60 by the end of next year.

“We are coming to market this year with PV5, which is our entrant into the small van market. Then in the first half of 2027, we will bring out PV7, which will be our entry into the medium van market and then to keep things simple, we will bring out PV9 before the end of the decade into the large van market,” Paul Philpott told Van Fleet World.

“That gives us three products with standard- and long-range battery, with different conversions, so we’re trying to describe our journey into commercial vehicles, which of course will fully support the ZEV mandate because we will only have electric vehicles. What the Government announced in response to the consultation on 7 April was the bi-directional credits from van to cars and cars to vans, which is very advantageous given that we’re 100%  EV. The excess credits from vans can count towards car and are double for car, so that’s all very helpful. It helps position our professional business vans as an absolutely central part of our total brand offering.”