Early mark for groundbreaking commercial vehicle? Kia's two-prong business attack starts with Tasman and heats up this year with PV5 modular electric van to rival LDV eDeliver 7, Hyundai Staria, Toyota Hiace and Ford Transit Custom

Kia’s commercial vehicle attack is taking shape as its PV5 modular electric van gears up to launch in the UK this year.

The futuristic looking van range’s launch time frame has now been confirmed, according to British publication Autocar. The PV5, Kia’s first instalment, will start sales overseas in the fourth quarter of 2025, so not too far behind the Tasman ute.

Given the UK is right-hand drive just like us, the Kia PV5 could arrive in Australia at a similar time. The Korean marque’s Australian arm is yet to confirm details but has shown interest in the new vans. The dual-cab Tasman is top priority, though.

Unlike the Tasman, which largely conforms to ute norms in terms of powertrain and capability, the PV5 and Kia’s van strategy does anything but.

Rather than spruiking payloads and cheap prices, Kia is looking to eventually offer a full van ecosystem. Proprietary software, vehicle monitoring, centralised control and autonomous deliveries are all on the cards… eventually.

For starters, though, the PV5 — a rival to the LDV eDeliver 7, Toyota Hiace and Ford Transit Custom — is more about pushing boundaries of modularity and electrification.

The PV5 concept is 4645mm long, 1900mm tall and wide and rides on a 2995mm wheelbase.

The initial PV5 will arrive in the UK in two variants, a high-roof panel van along with a seven-seat people mover pitched at taxi and ride-share companies. Apparently, Uber was involved in the design process of the people mover.

Underneath the PV5 uses a version of Kia/Hyundai’s E-GMP platform with a front mounted electric motor and 400-volt electricals like the EV5 SUV. Kia has not mentioned PV5 specifics yet, but the EV5 can be had with a large 88.1kWh battery for up to 555km driving range.

The other significant development is modularity, with Kia referring to this suite of models as PBVs, or ‘Platform Beyond Vehicles’.

That is marketing speak but it means there’s only one fixed element of the layout, that being the drive compartment. Behind that, it’s open slather. Seating, storage, even a ute tray could be offered.

Inside the van models, Kia is developing an integrated rail system to allow cabinets, seats, frames and other interior feature to easily be switched between vans if needed.

To simplify construction, Kia uses a mix of tubular steel and engineered polymers, reducing the number of parts in the body by 55 per cent.

The PV5 is just the start of Kia’s modular van journey. A larger PV7 is expected to follow in 2027 or 2028 to rival the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and full-size Transit at 5.7 metres long. It’s expected to offer 800V electrics to boost charging speed for larger batteries.

Then it all gets a little futuristic, with the PV3 small van to gauge future interest for a Volkswagen Caddy rival. There’s also the PV1 micro van, a driverless concept pitched as a compact autonomous urban delivery vehicle — think 2030 and beyond.

It all sounds remarkably exciting but the stats vans currently trade on, like payload, space for pallets and affordability aren’t being spoken about now. Will Kia’s new take on commercials change the game? Only time will tell.