The EV5 is boxier than the EV6 and will use 400-volt architecture, which will make charging slower, but will likely make it cost less.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Kia showed off its coming EV5 compact SUV Thursday evening in Toronto while confirming the all-electric counterpart to the Sportage will come to Canada. It will probably not be sold in the United States.
“For us, it’s a no-brainer – it’s the right car for our market,” said Elias El-Achhab, chief operating officer of Kia Canada Inc. “It’s the right size. It’s the right segment. It gives you all the utilitarian use that most families need in Canada, and it’s designed right and priced right and it has the right range. It’s the car for us, and it’s irrelevant what the U.S. does.”
Automakers are usually reluctant to sell vehicles in Canada that are not also sold in the U.S. because all vehicles must be homologated – inspected and approved – for sale in this country. Canadian standards are almost identical to American standards, and so the considerable cost of homologation can usually be shared with the U.S.
Canada-only vehicles are unusual, but not unknown: the Kia Soul EV was sold here, but was never brought into the United States. The United States offers a US$7,500 tax incentive to vehicles that include enough North American content, and the EV5 is unlikely to qualify, making it much more costly than the competition that does.
Of course, with the looming threat of American tariffs for vehicles not assembled in the U.S. itself, such vehicles may become much more common here. In Mexico, many vehicles are sold that are not available in the rest of North America – especially lower-cost Chinese- and Indian-built vehicles. Kia isn’t saying yet where the EV5 will be assembled.
Kia Canada says the EV5, which will arrive in Canada in early 2026, “is intended to accelerate the adoption of EVs by overcoming the affordability barrier that exists within the automative landscape.” In other words, it will be less expensive than current electric models. Even as Kia says it is “priced right,” it didn’t provide a price at its debut event.
The interior of the new Kia EV5, which will arrive in Canada in early 2026.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
“I’d say it’s going to hit the heart of the compact market – we’ll be slotting right in,” said David Sherrard, Kia Canada’s director of strategic planning. “It’s an EV, but we are aiming at that bigger compact SUV market, and that’s why this is going to be a real important vehicle for us and for the Canadian market in general. You’ll see a slightly higher price than the Sportage, but you’re also getting the latest in technology. We’ll confirm the pricing closer to launch.”
The current gas-only Kia Sportage starts at $33,530, including freight and predelivery inspection. The hybrid Sportage starts at $41,630, and the plug-in hybrid Sportage starts at $50,425. An optimistic suggestion for the EV5’s price next year would be around $55,000. A smaller electric SUV, the EV3, is expected to come to Canada later in 2026, and it will likely cost proportionately less.
“We’re expecting [the EV5] to be our main volume EV,” said El-Achhab, who added that the company is not deterred by the Canadian government’s recent cancellation of its $5,000 rebate program for electric vehicles.
“There are going to be some bumps in the road, but we can’t build a business plan based on government incentives,” he said. “We have to make sure we can make a go of it, regardless.”
The EV5 is about the same size as the compact Sportage, though the interior feels more spacious, owing to its flat floor, with no transmission tunnel and the battery stored underneath. It will use 400-volt architecture, not the 800-volt of its larger EV6 and EV9 siblings, which may slow the rate of charging but will also help reduce the cost.
The EV5 will have 2 rows of seats and be smaller than the EV9.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
There will be a choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive and also a choice of battery size, either a 60.3-kilowatt-hour standard range or an 81.4-kilowatt-hour long range option. Kia is not yet saying what those claimed ranges will be.
“If you look at the range of our current EVs, we’re going to be in the heart of that range as well,” said Sherrard. “We’re anywhere from the high 300s (kilometres) to over 500.” The EV5 will be fitted with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port, similar to Teslas and a growing number of vehicles from other manufacturers.
The EV5 will be rated for towing, but Sherrard could not say what weight it would rated for. “That’s another specification that we’re waiting for confirmation on. That’s the joy of doing a very early event.”
The public will have a chance to view the EV5 for the first time in person at the coming Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto, which runs from Feb. 14-23.
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Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that the new Kia EV5 will be available in front-wheel or rear-wheel drive. In fact, it will be available in front-wheel or all-wheel drive. This version has been updated.