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Kia’s electric van is crushing it in Europe with a 37% share of small EV van sales

Kia’s first electric van continues to defy expectations. The PV5 has quickly become the most popular e-LCV across Europe and the UK.

Kia PV5 EV van sales rise in Europe and the UK

After launching the PV5 at the end of 2025, Kia’s electric van proved to be a bigger hit than expected.

According to the most recent figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the PV5 accounted for 37% of all electric vans in the small (C-segment) market in Europe, ranking as the best-seller in 12 countries, including the UK and Germany.

Kia said the “PV5 has quickly become the most popular e-LCV” across Europe and the UK since the beginning of the year.

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The PV5 is available in Passenger, Cargo, and Chassis variants for businesses and personal use. In the UK, the PV5 Cargo is the best-selling electric van so far in 2026.

July marked the first time Kia sold over 1,000 electric vans in a single month in the UK, including 784 PV5 Cargo and 235 PV5 Passenger models.

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Kia PV5 Cargo (Source: Kia)

Kia has already sold more PV5 models this year than expected. Through July, Kia registered 3,239 PV5 Cargo and 1,141 PV5 Passenger vans. The strong demand propelled Kia into third in the UK’s electric light commercial vehicle market.

With a full lineup of electric vehicles, including the EV2, EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9, plus the PV5 van, Kia now ranks as the second-most-popular EV brand in the UK year-to-date. In July, it was the best-selling EV brand with 3,731 registrations.

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Kia PV5 Passenger 7-seat (Source: Kia UK)

With deliveries of new EV2 variants set to begin and the “rapid rise of the PV5,” Kia UK’s president and CEO, Paul Philpott, expects the momentum to continue for the rest of 2026.

Kia is also launching new PV5 variants, including a 7-seater (2-2-3), Prime, and a Cargo High Roof model. Next year, Kia will introduce the larger PV7 electric van, followed by the PV9 by 2030.

With a full lineup of electric vans, Kia plans to sell 232,000 PBVs by the end of the decade.

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Avatar for Peter Johnson Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson is covering the auto industry’s step-by-step transformation to electric vehicles. He is an experienced investor, financial writer, and EV enthusiast. His enthusiasm for electric vehicles, primarily Tesla, is a significant reason he pursued a career in investments. If he isn’t telling you about his latest 10K findings, you can find him enjoying the outdoors or exercising