Kia unveils the tiny, urban-focused EV2, but will the US ever see it?

Kia unveiled its new compact, entry-level EV2 electric hatchback at the Brussels Motor Show this morning. It looks like a great, affordable EV… that the US may never see.

We saw some teasers of the EV2 this week and a concept last year, but now the real thing is finally here.

The EV2 is designed to fit into the bottom slot of Kia’s electric car stable, its smallest and least-expensive entry. It’s a boxy, (very) compact SUV intended for urban driving and as an “entry point to electric mobility.”

The car looks about as we expected it would – very similar to the concept and to the draped model we saw just last month. No real surprises here, and nothing particularly out of the ordinary – just a good, utilitarian-looking box. I like it.

Exterior dimensions of the EV2 are quite small, measuring only 4060mm (159.8in) in length. That’s shorter than the Volvo EX30 (4233mm/166.6in) and the ubiquitous VW Golf (4282mm/168.5in), meaning the EV2 should be easy to park in the urban environments it’s made for. Heightwise, the EV2 is 1575mm (60in) tall – and it measures 1800mm (70.9in) in width. So it’s small… but there are smaller cars out there (the Hyundai Inster is the same height, but both thinner and 10 inches shorter).

So the exterior isn’t much of a surprise, but Kia did release some specs alongside their reveal today.

Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about performance specs – no power, no acceleration, no curb weight. But we did learn about the batteries and charging, at least.

It will be available in two battery sizes, a “standard-range” 42kWh battery with a 317km/197mi range, and a “long range” 61kWh battery with a 448km/278mi range. Both of these ranges are estimates, and are based on the WLTP test cycle, which is more lenient than the EPA test cycle (and more suited to European roads than American ones).

Those range numbers do seem a little low for such a small car (especially when correcting for WLTP/EPA), so we wonder if Kia is perhaps being a little conservative in its estimates, or if we’re underestimating the size/weight of this thing. It will be interesting to see real-world results when the car gets delivered, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the car does a little better than expected.

Kia didn’t confirm peak DC charging speed or voltage level, but did say that the car will charge from 10-80% in about 30 minutes. Some quick math suggests an average (not peak) charge rate of ~85kW for the long range model and ~60kW for the standard range.

This is significantly slower than other E-GMP platform cars, which can charge at more than twice that rate in the right circumstances. The EV2 is likely then charging at 400V, unlike the 800V of its higher-end E-GMP cousins.

AC charging is plenty quick, though – the car comes with either an 11 or 22kW AC charger, meaning you can charge pretty quickly even without plugging into DC.

And, the EV2 does have V2L/V2G functionality, much like other Kia EVs. Kia didn’t say what amount of juice the compact EV can put out, but its other vehicles have had impressively powerful V2G abilities (the EV6 can do 12kW), so we wouldn’t be surprised if the car is capable of running more than just a power strip.

Kia calls the interior of the vehicle a “Picnic Box,” emphasizing its sparse but cozy utility. Despite the exterior’s similarity to the concepts we saw, the interior is quite a bit different, and a lot more… uh, normal-looking.

Kia says the interior uses “fabric-rich materials” which, frankly, I’m fine with. I never got the draw of leather anyway. Although, there will be an upgraded trim which looks to use (synthetic?) leather (photos below).

The interior includes one wide display separated into three sections – one 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 5-inch climate display, and a 12.3-inch infotainment section. The cabin has ambient lighting, synchronized with certain vehicle functions.

But, controls aren’t all digital, there are physical switches on the dash and the steering wheel for functions like volume, hvac and more.

While we haven’t had a chance to get inside one, the car does look like it has some useful nooks and crannies, including a flexible lower console, wireless charging tray, adjustable cup holders, door pockets and the like. We can see 3 USB-C ports in the front, and Kia says they’re capable of 100W charging.

And it has my favorite feature, “Digital Key 2,” which is Kia’s branding for phone-as-key. (I hate carrying keys)

Despite the EV2’s small size, Kia says interior space is “comparable to larger vehicles.” This is often a strength of EVs (at least, when they’re designed from the ground up, rather than retrofitted), as batteries and motors offer more packaging options for car designers. Rear legroom can extend to 958mm (37.7in) with the seats slid fully back, and rear cargo capacity is up to 403 liters (14.2 cu ft) with the seats slid fully forward.

While we didn’t see any photos of the rear seat or cargo space yet, Kia’s spec sheet refers to both a 4-seat and a 5-seat version. The former has sliding and reclining rear seats, whereas the latter gives you an extra seat but is a fixed bench seat.

Kia has not yet announced pricing for the EV2, but it’s suspected to be cheaper than the larger EV3, which starts at around 36k Euros ($42k). Production on the base standard model will begin imminently, in Slovakia in the first quarter of this year. Higher-trim long-range and GT-Line models will come later this year. Kia hasn’t announced when the car will be on sale, but with that production timing, we imagine it will only be a matter of months.

As for regional availability – all we know is that Kia “has not announced plans for the US market.” Given that Kia has a slate of right-sized EVs available around the world which it so far has not decided to bring to the US (including the EV4, which was supposed to come here, but has been delayed indefinitely), we’re hopeful but realistic about our chances of getting an actually-good-sized vehicle amongst the American sea of ridiculous land yachts.

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