Kia's new affordable small electric cars and revolutionary hybrid ute confirmed to battle everything from 2026 BYD Shark 6 to Toyota Corolla

Kia has confirmed its short-term new model plans, with the upcoming EV2 small SUV to be followed up with what appears to be an EV1 and a hybrid/electric ute.

At Kia’s CEO Investor day, the brand’s CEO Ho Sung Song confirmed a range of future products to be launched by the brand before the end of the decade.

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It is part of the brand’s push to be recognised as what Song termed as a “Tier-1 EV brand.”

On the passenger car front, this will include the EV2 this year, but also the Syros city EV for the Indian market, a Mazda2-sized electric hatchback, a new mid-size SUV (to live between EV5 and EV6 in terms of price), and an little SUV, expected to be the EV1.

The brand will continue to lean into its “PBV” commercial vehicle range. The first of the Kia PBVs to launch in Australia will be the PV5 mid-size van, due imminently, wearing a keen $55,990 price-tag for the single Cargo S launch variant.

From there, the brand will launch a larger PV7 globally later this year, and then the large PV9 by 2029.

All versions of the PV vans will score multiple bodystyles, totalling 40, including standard, long-wheelbase, cab chassis and passenger variants, but also an open-bed pick-up truck form as well as purpose-built taxis, campervans and luxury layouts.

The headlining news is the announcement of another ute to bolster the brand's range. Kia said this model will be a US-dedicated HEV pick-up due before 2030. While the brand showed the silhouette of the Tasman on its slides regarding this incoming model, it seems there will be a distinct product designed to compete with US-specific “mid-size” models.

It will be available as both a plugless hybrid, but will also feature a new range-extender hybrid system, which has also been hinted at by Kia’s Hyundai parent company.

Kia says the new system will use a proprietary system, which leverages the generator motor as the drive motor, and will reduce costs by using “optimised battery sizing” while improving range through “engine based battery charging.”

This new range-extender hybrid will use only electric motors to drive the wheels, with no tailshaft connecting the rear wheels to the front, as per a graphic shown by the brand. In this sense, the system will be closer in its design to a BYD Shark 6.

This push into electric cars, vans and even a ute, won’t come at the cost of combustion models either. Kia promised nine new combustion cars before 2030, including the next-gen Telluride large SUV and the Seltos small SUV.

The brand also promises “entry-level” hybrid versions of many of these cars as it hopes to sell nearly 70 per cent electrified models by 2030.

It confirmed it is also working on a new software-defined vehicle, which will “debut to customers’ in 2028, with an eye to launching a dedicated robotaxi model in “late 2030.”

Locally, the next major launches for Kia will be the arrival of its next-generation Seltos, as well as the arrival of the PV5. Stay tuned for more as the brand will no doubt announce more plans for 2027 in the second half of this year.