KIA is set to sell the EV5 in North America... but forgets the United States

When car manufacturers announce the launch of one of their models in North America, it is usually released in both the United States and Canada, reaching the latter with a few months’ delay in the worst case. However, there are a few exceptions, and the KIA EV5 is going to be one of them.

The South Korean manufacturer has just announced the upcoming availability of its compact EV5 SUV in Canada, adding that it currently has no plans to launch it in the American market as well.

KIA has not explained, for the time being, why the EV5 will not be sold in the United States. A decision by the company that is quite surprising. Some speculation has suggested that the current trade war between the United States and China could be the reason, but the truth is that Canada also applies a 100 percent tariff on vehicle imports from this Asian country, just like the United States. Let us recall that the EV5 is currently produced at the Chinese plant in Yancheng, from which exports have begun to other markets such as Australia and Thailand, and which could soon be joined by Europe.

KIA plans, however, to also produce the EV5 in Singapore. This model will be the first of the brand to be assembled at the new Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore plant located in the Singaporean city of Jurong. The EV5 units leaving this plant are expected to reach the local market this same year, so it cannot be ruled out that the EV5 arriving in Canada may also come from this plant, which would allow KIA to avoid the high tariffs imposed on vehicles from China.

KIA’s new-generation “low cost” electric SUV

For those who are not familiar with it, the KIA EV5 sits one step above the more affordable EV3, which is already sold in Europe, in the South Korean manufacturer’s range. With dimensions similar to those of a Toyota RAV4, the design of the KIA EV5 is quite similar to that of its big brother, the EV9. So much so that some describe it as a compact version of the latter.

Like the rest of its larger siblings, the KIA EV5 uses the Hyundai Group’s E-GMP platform, but with some important differences. The most notable of these is that its architecture is not 800V, but 400V, in order to reduce costs and allow it to be sold at a much more competitive price.

The KIA EV5 has proven to be a key model in the recovery of the South Korean manufacturer’s sales in the Chinese market, where it has once again managed to exceed 200 thousand units per year. With the launch of this compact SUV in other markets such as Canada, KIA hopes to repeat this success, placing this model at the top of sales in each of these markets.