The 2026 Kia EV4 could be an important vehicle in the ongoing global EV transition. To be sold in 140 markets globally, the EV4 is a carefully calibrated shot at bringing long-range electric power into the high-volume mainstream segment of compact sedans and hatchbacks at an affordable price.
US and Asian markets will get an EV4 sedan (the model I spent the day with for this review), now built in Korea. Europeans’ preference for five-doors means only an EV4 hatchback will be available in that region—built in Kia’s plant in Žilina, Slovakia. Asked if the hatch would come to North America, Kia execs replied with a “hard no.”
The Kia EV4 is already on sale in South Korea; it will roll out to the rest of the world over the next nine months. At the time of writing, pricing for markets outside Korea still hasn’t been announced, but if the prices in its home country are anything to go by, US buyers can expect a cost somewhere between $29,000 to $36,000, depending on spec. The likelihood is, it won’t be quite that simple, but anything in the low-to-mid $30,000 range would make this a very interesting EV indeed.
Courtesy of Kia
400 Volts to Cut Cost
Built on a new, 400-volt version of Hyundai Motor Group’s shared E-GMP platform, the EV4 line debuts the brand’s first dedicated EV sedan. With its sibling the slightly smaller EV3 hatchback, it uses a 400-volt battery architecture to lower cost, rather than the 800-volt system of the Kia EV6 hatchback utility and EV9 three-row SUV. LG Energy Solutions nickel-cobalt-manganese cells are shared among Kia’s many EVs, but the EV4 uses a new and more cost-efficient battery design, traction motor, charging gear, and power electronics.
Apparently, designing the 400-volt E-GMP largely for front-wheel-drive models eliminates the weight and range disadvantages of providing for a second motor in the rear. Kia also said it will choose cell chemistries specifically tailored to maximizing range within a smaller pack volume, at the cost of slower fast charging.
While Kia declined to provide WIRED examples of specific cell chemistries, it has discussed its new “highly efficient, super-compact thin HVAC system” (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) fitted to the related EV3. The new heat-pump system is now the fourth generation; Kia says it expands front legroom by 6 mm against previous versions.
However, the ultimate goal for the EV4 was “acceptable range and charging time,” Kia execs said. The EV4 takes 30 minutes to fast-charge from 10 to 80 percent of capacity versus 18 minutes for the pricier 800-volt EV6. Those charging specs are measured under ideal circumstances: battery and ambient temperatures, a preconditioned battery, and more. Real-world charge times will of course likely be longer.
