Kia Pushing Affordability with EV3, EV4 Concepts Shown in LA

• Kia showed off two EV concepts in Los Angeles: EV3 compact crossover (shown above) and EV4 midsize sedan.

• They could be in showrooms by early 2025 to expand Kia’s battery-electric vehicle lineup.

• A larger EV5 SUV concept with no B-pillar and suicide doors was shown earlier this year, later tweaked with regular doors. No word on a US version of that.
  

Kia showed off two tidy EV concepts at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and word on the street is the pair could be in production in a little over a year with pricing in the $30,000 range. The EV3 and EV4 were originally shown at Kia’s EV Day in Korea on Oct. 12.

As far as Kia EVs, we here in the US currently get the Niro EV and the EV6, but Kia has plans to offer many more electric cars and crossovers.

For instance, Kia is now taking orders for the three-row, seven-passenger EV9 premium electric SUV, with prices from $54,900 to $73,900. Range for the EV9 varies from 280 to 304 miles, depending on model. Design cues from the EV9 are all over the EV3 and EV4.

An EV5 SUV concept with no B-pillar and suicide doors was shown earlier this year. At a later showing it had regular doors. Although the EV3 and EV4 appear to be destined for the US market, it’s unclear whether the EV5 will make it here. If it did, it would slot between the Niro EV and EV6.

Kia will assemble the larger EV9 in West Point, Georgia, so it could qualify for a government tax rebate for buyers. That incentive can save consumers up to $7500, so Kia would be motivated to build the EV3, EV4, or EV5 in the US as well.

There has even been talk that Kia will offer a B-segment EV and a GT1 electric sports car.

All of which is context for this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show reveal of the EV3 and EV4 concepts. No word yet on powertrains or battery size, but here’s what Kia has to say about this design-heavy pair.

Concept EV3

The compact EV3 would fit, sizewise, between the Seltos and Soul. There is no Seltos EV currently, and while there is a Soul EV, it’s not offered in the US. The EV3 could replace the Soul in the company’s US lineup.

“The Concept EV3 represents the brand’s vision for an electric, compact crossover that offers the technology, practicality, and design of Kia’s flagship SUV, the EV9. The Concept EV3 features a high degree of inspiration from the ‘Joy for Reason’ pillar of the Opposites United design philosophy.”

In case you missed it, that “Opposites United” was something presented by Kia at Milan Design Week in April. Opposites United “takes inspiration from the contrasts found in nature and humanity.” Okay.

And there’s this: “The design treatment of the Concept EV3’s exterior creates a unique silhouette, with the windshield pushed forward, a sloping roofline, and a disconnected C-pillar that links the glasshouse surfaces and gives the roof a floating effect.”

The interior “blends exceptional practicality with transformative cabin ambience and design.”

Concept EV4

“Its four-door format emphasizes potent and impactful lines that represent an entirely new type of EV sedan that stands as a symbol of innovation,” Kia says. “Brought to life through a harmonious fusion of confident, geometric diagonal character lines and rich yet technical surfaces, the Concept EV4 represents a new value, approach, customer experience, and typology.”

We looked up “typology.” Besides being a line of Natural Vegan Skincare products, the word means, “study of or analysis or classification based on types or categories.”

The EV4 exterior, meanwhile, “incorporates attributes reminiscent of sports and racing cars…” while inside “features a sleek and spacious horizontal layout.”

Finally, in a boon to small rodents and hungry marsupials everywhere, Kia says the interiors of both concepts incorporate “bioplastic, produced from biomass sources such as vegetable oils, corn extract, sawdust, and sugarcane, and Bio Polyurethane as a replacement for animal-based leather.” That is all well and fine until a raccoon gets in there and eats your car’s interior.

Regardless, we are looking forward to seeing production versions of these two EVs, perhaps as early as 2025. But you never really know exactly when, or even if, we’ll see them in production at this early stage.

What do you think of Kia’s newest EV concepts, designed for entry-level affordability? Please comment below.