The Kia EV1 may come to life after all as a little sibling to the EV2

The EV2 is Kia’s smallest and most affordable electric vehicle, but we may see an even cheaper EV1 added to the lineup.

Is Kia launching the EV1?

After unveiling the EV2 for the first time at the Brussels Motor Show last week, Kia is already hinting that a smaller, more affordable EV may be in the works.

We first caught wind of it during Kia’s 2025 EV Day event last February, when the EV2 Concept was introduced to the world for the first time.

Kia’s CEO Ho Sung Song stressed during the event (via Automotive News) that “the EV2’s major target is early majority customers,” adding, “But if we want to move to the late majority customer target, we definitely need a lower size and a lower price.”

Song said that the company was “internally studying what will be our entry EV product, apart from the EV2,” and we could see it as soon as Kia’s next EV Day event.

At the Brussels Motor Show last week, Kia hinted again that an even smaller EV was still part of the plan. When asked about the EV1, Jochen Paesen, VP and head of Kia Future Design, told The Independent that the company was “very conscious that a small car, the small EV market, is really important.”

Paesen stressed that “we need to keep working on that,” adding Kia is already looking into the possibilities of a smaller EV to sit below the EV2.

“We’ll do it our Kia way, let’s put it that way. I think we want to make sure that we are noticed,” Kia’s designer said.

Several automakers have already announced plans to cover the segment, like Volkswagen.”So, it’s important for us is to make sure that we, whatever we do, we are noticed,” Paesen said. Outside of calling it “a proper car,” he didn’t offer any other details.

Speaking with Autocar, Kia Europe’s marketing director, David Hilbert, confirmed the company “will look at where opportunities are,” adding that “obviously it’s called EV2 for a reason,” hinting at a future EV1 model.

Since the EV2 is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,000) when it goes on sale later this year, EV1 prices would likely start closer to €20,000 ($23,300), where Volkswagen is aiming with the production version of the ID.EVERY1 show car.

The EV2 will be available with two battery pack options: 42.2 kWh and 61 kWh, providing up to 278 miles (448 km) WLTP range.

Like the EV2, the EV1 would likely feature smaller battery packs, a single front electric motor, and a modified 400V version of Hyundai’s E-GMP platform to cut costs.

Measuring just 4,060 mm (160″) in length, the EV2 is about the size of the Volkswagen ID.3, meaning an EV1 would be even smaller at around 3,600 mm (142″), similar to the Picanto. That’s about the size of the Fiat 500e, the smallest EV in the US.