Kia first unveiled its plans for a range of modular new electric vehicles under the “PBV” banner back in 2022 and now we’ve been afforded our first look at how one of the production models will look before its debut at the “2025 Kia EV Day” next week. It’s called the PV5, and it will be offered in Passenger and Cargo styles to begin with.
What’s a PBV?
PBV stands for Platform Beyond Vehicle, and it hints at the modularity underpinning this whole new lineup of vehicles. Some will be designed for carrying passengers, though many consider this to be Kia’s first serious attempt at grabbing a chunk of the commercial vehicle market, and it’s doing so with all-electric power.
Before the design of the PV5 was unveiled today, Kia had displayed several concept vehicles showing where it was headed with the PBV idea, and it’s clear that they closely previewed the showroom-bound styling. The vehicles above are the concepts, while the main image is the production vehicle.
What can you tell us about the PV5?
Not a whole lot when it comes to what’s underneath the upright styling, as Kia hasn’t said much on that front. Though it did allude to “leveraging” its electric car technology, so it would make sense for the PV5 to adopt electric motors and battery packs from the firm’s EV range.
While boxier in terms of proportions, the PBVs look to be designed by the same team responsible for Kia's cars, using the same rugged appearance mixed with upright LED lighting.
Karim Habib, Head of Kia Global Design, said: “While the PV5 is offered in three different body styles to provide innovative solutions for a diverse range of customer needs, they all embody the same consistent design values inspired by Kia’s design philosophy, ‘Opposites United’. Each model confidently expresses a solid, bold, futuristic character and a highly capable attitude.”
He mentioned three body styles...
Well spotted. For now, only the PV5 Cargo and PV5 Passenger have been confirmed, but the earlier concepts show other derivatives, including a high-roofed model used for a variety of purposes, such as a taxi, accessible MPV and even just a tall panel van.
The Cargo and Passenger variants share a bold front end with a black section under the windscreen making it look larger than it is. However, that blends with the notably large side windows for what must be a cabin filled with light. Especially so in the people-carrying model.
Meanwhile, sliding side doors aid access to the interior for passengers or cargo. A key difference at the back between the Cargo and Passenger models is the adoption of double doors for the van and a top-hinged tailgate for the MPV.
What’s the interior like?
Kia has confirmed that the production-ready cabin and other features will be detailed at the end of this month and there are no images of the interior of either vehicle. However, we do have shots of the concept models, which must hint at what’s the come. See below and in the gallery above.
Expect lots of clever versatility and plenty of space, as well as interior technology carried over from Kia’s cars.
Any other Kia vans in the pipeline?
Following on from the mid-sized Kia PV5 will be the large PV7 and then a smaller model called the PV1. We don’t have a timescale for the roll out of them all, but we would expect to see the first on Irish roads during 2026.