Kia plans to have 14 electric vehicles in its lineup as soon as 2027, and some of these will be purpose-built vehicles designed to meet a customer's specific needs, such as delivery vans or shuttles.
Kia previewed some of its upcoming purpose-built vehicles with concepts during 2024 CES, albeit without any powertrain details.
Now a camouflaged prototype for a production model has been spotted. It's a midsize van that's likely to carry the PV5 name into production. The name was attached to the concept that served as a preview of the van at CES.
The concept measured close to 183 inches long and had a wheelbase of almost 118 inches, and the production model looks to be about that size. A larger van measuring more than 207 inches long, dubbed the PV7, was also shown.
Depending on how it's configured, the PV5 could serve as a delivery van, a passenger van, a camper van, or a taxi. Kia has also shown a configuration that could be used as a robotaxi, something Kia plans to use itself.
Kia also plans to offer the PV5 as a chassis cab, which will enable owners to build the vehicle to fully suit their needs, a practice known as upfitting.
Kia PBV Concepts
The PV5 is expected to debut in 2025 as the first of Kia's new purpose-built vehicles.
Kia will also launch a purpose-built vehicle designed for taxi services using its Niro compact crossover as the basis.
