KIA EV5 WILL BE SOLD IN CANADA, BUT NOT IN THE U.S. - HERE'S WHY

Kia is preparing yet another competitive electric vehicle (EV) called the EV5. Along with the smaller, more subcompact EV3, the compact EV5 will help bring EVs to a more affordable price point and convince young families on a budget that they can, in fact, count on an electric vehicle for their daily duties. At least, according to Kia's claims. The EV5 looks promising, but it will only arrive early next year as a 2027 model. Sadly, it's not coming to the U.S. Interestingly enough, our Canadian neighbors are getting it, though, making the EV5 a very close forbidden fruit. But why won't the EV5 be available here?

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2025 Kia EV3 Could Finally Be The Cheap, Long Range EV The Industry Desperately Needs

With the EV3, Kia aims at obliterating any hesitancies consumers may have towards electric vehicles.

Canada Rarely Gets Models The U.S. Doesn't Get, So What Gives?

As reported by Canada's The Car Guide, Canada rarely has access to vehicles the U.S. doesn't get. Generally speaking, both markets tend to align with each other. And since Canada is a much smaller market than the U.S., it tends to merely tag along. But there have been exceptions in the past, with models like the Nissan Micra (to say nothing of the Micra Cup), the Mercedes-Benz B-Class and A-Class hatchback, the Acura EL/CSX or the VW Golf and Jetta City, just to name a few. The Kia EV5 was just added to that list.

The main reason for it not being available to Americans mostly has to do with where it is built: China. Due to the U.S. government's strict policies around EVs being built elsewhere than in the U.S., as well as their batteries, the EV5 will not be eligible for any form of tax credit or incentive (who knows if these will keep going on for long). Kia considers that because of this, as well as U.S. tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles, the EV5 would simply be too expensive in America.

Oddly enough, Canada also imposes strict tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles. And while, yes, its EV incentives both on the federal and provincial levels don't take into account where the vehicle is built, the federal Canadian government recently froze its $5,000 EV incentive program due to Parliament being upended after Prime Minister Trudeau's recent announcement to resign.

Meanwhile, a similar situation has happened in the province of Quebec - which had the most generous EV incentive program in North America - where the additional $7,500 incentive (on top of the federal $5,000) was halted until further notice. It appears that Kia's decision was taken before these sudden changes, so its motivations for choosing Canada over the U.S. remain sort of hazy at this point. I reached out to Kia Canada for comment on the matter and will update this article if I hear back from them.

In line with Kia’s commitment to being a mobility solutions provider, the company aims to continue to break down barriers to entry as the industry transitions to more electric vehicle ownership. Upon launch, EV5 will mark an important milestone as we introduce this vehicle as an affordable option that will meet the needs of today’s modern consumer, in what is Canada’s most significant segment.

- David Sherrard, Director of Strategic Planning at Kia Canada.

2026 Kia EV5 Will Get NACS And Two Battery Options

While the EV5's technical specifications and Canadian pricing are still far away, Kia confirmed that the vehicle will come off the assembly line with a North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port, allowing it to instantly be compatible with the Tesla Supercharger network of fast chargers without requiring an adapter.

Another great aspect of the EV5, is that it will essentially carry over the Hyundai Group's E-GMP EV-dedicated architecture, allowing for more than 200-kW of DC fast charging, as well as the choice of two battery options with capacities of either 60.3 or 81.4 kWh. Kia also confirmed that the EV5 will be offered in either a front-wheel-drive, or dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration. Furthermore, the E-GMP platform will allow the EV5 to inherit the Hyundai Group's latest infotainment software, presented in this case via a nearly 30-inch tablet that spans the dashboard. The system will be compatible with over-the-air (OTA) updates.

The general assumption with the EV5 is that, while the EV3 will slot as the carmakers' most affordable, subcompact EV offering, replacing, presumably, the Niro EV, the EV5, rather, will slot more as a compact alongside the existing Sportage. It will therefore be sandwiched between the EV3 and the current EV6, which leans more towards the midsize segment. The 2027 Kia EV5 will be displayed at the Canadian Auto Show scheduled in Toronto, from February 14 to 23.

2025-02-02T00:10:26Z