3 months ago
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Rebecca Bellan
Wed, Apr 16, 2025, 8:50 AM 5 min read
Kia debuted its 2026 EV4 sedan astatine the New York International Auto Show connected Wednesday, its archetypal planetary electrical sedan and 1 designed for customers looking for an affordable EV.
Whether U.S. customers volition gravitate towards a sedan is an unfastened question — and 1 Kia isn't needfully betting on. The institution launched income of the EV4 successful South Korea and plans to bring it to Europe by the extremity of the year. Sales successful United States are expected to statesman successful the past 4th of 2025 oregon archetypal 4th of 2026, a Kia spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Kia's superior transportation with the EV4 is affordability, and with a respectable range, interior features, tech touches it could yet springiness consumers different option. While Kia hasn’t yet shared U.S. pricing, some person estimated that it would commencement astatine astir $35,000, adding different rival to the Tesla Model 3. Eric Watson, VP of income astatine Kia America, confirmed the ballpark terms scope to TechCrunch.
Tom Kearns, Kia's main designer, said Wednesday that what "many EVs person successful communal is the pricing that leans much towards the higher end. But our eventual extremity is to marque electrified attainable driving for everyone."
That's wherefore the EV4 has a "distinctive with a tech-forward design" and is affordable adjacent with its "many precocious features," galore of which tin beryllium recovered successful Kia's higher extremity EV6 crossover inferior conveyance and EV9 SUV.
For U.S. buyers, however, that charismatic terms constituent could beryllium astatine risk. President Donald Trump’s projected automotive tariffs endanger to adhd 25% to the outgo of immoderate imported conveyance — including the EV4, which Kia plans to physique successful South Korea and motorboat stateside successful the archetypal 4th of 2026. With the tariff scenery shifting by the day, it's intolerable to accidental what buyers volition beryllium facing a twelvemonth from now.
Watson noted that Kia was unfastened to exploring the thought of bringing accumulation of the EV4 to the U.S. The automaker already has a installation successful Westpoint, Georgia wherever it builds its EV6 crossover inferior conveyance and EV9 SUV for the U.S. market, with SK On arsenic its artillery manufacturing partner.
Despite having American manufacturing and domestically produced batteries, Orth Hendrick, Kia America's VP of merchandise planning, said, "There are inactive a batch of components that are taxable to tariffs. It's not bully for business. We're hoping determination volition beryllium immoderate developments possibly implicit the summer."
The Kia EV4 does person respective things going for it that could marque a purchaser hazard the tariffs, astir notably its decent range. The modular 58.3 kWh battery, which comes with the “Light” trim, has a scope of 235 miles, and the long-range 81.4 kWh battery, which comes with the “Wind” oregon “GT-Line” trims, tin spell up to 330 miles.
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