Kia on Monday partially revealed production-ready sedan and hatchback versions of its EV4 compact electric vehicle.
First previewed in 2023 by a concept car, the production Kia EV4 sedan retains the concept’s sleek profile and bold, multi-faceted surfacing. The hatchback replaces the sedan’s tapered tail with a squared-off shape that also looks fairly distinctive.
New Kia EV4 sedan
Kia is only showing the exteriors of the EV4 sedan and hatch for now. A more thorough reveal will take place Feb. 24 during a Kia EV Day presentation in Tarragona, Spain, at which the automaker also says it will provide an update on its electrification strategy. Full details on the EV4 will follow on Feb. 27.
The EV4 is one of three smaller electric models Kia unveiled at its October 2023 Kia EV Day event, all of which are expected to reach production for at least some markets. The other two models were crossovers, including the EV3, which is close to the same size as the Volvo EX30, and the EV5, which is sized like the Kia Sportage, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV4.
New Kia EV4 hatchback
Kia was quick at the time to say that the EV5 was not U.S.-bound, but it left the door open for the EV4 and EV3. A production-ready version of the EV3 was shown in May in of last year, and at the 2024 Los Angeles auto show last November, Kia America chief operating officer and executive vice president Steven Center told Green Car Reports that “we may see both” the EV4 and EV3 in the U.S.
A few months prior to that, a report said Kia was “developing a distinct North American model” of the EV3 targeting a $30,000 base price, to be built at the automaker’s factory in Monterey, Mexico, starting this year. The report didn’t mention the EV4, and Mexican production of any new EVs could be jeopardized by the Trump administration, which has threatened to levy tariffs against imports from that country.