Kia Ev4 2025 News

Best new cars coming to Australia in 2026

The electric car onslaught will continue in 2026 with the announcement of more than 20 new models in Australia.

Kia has confirmed that both the EV4 Sedan and Hatch will be launched in Australia next year – and that’s great news for buyers of the newly-released and very diesel-powered Tasman ute. Already offering one of the broadest ranges of SUV electric vehicles (EV) in Australia, including the EV3, EV5, EV6 and EV9, the company is keen for these plus the EV4 and the coming EV2 and eventually EV1 to offset the emissions (and potential subsequent penalties) of its diesel-powered models.

Kia's EV4 will be the Korean brand's answer to the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal, but will it have what it takes to establish itself against more incoming Chinese rivals?

Kia’s next electric car has had its production start date delayed to March 2025, but it has been spied by Shorts Car in Korea ahead of its official release. The heavily camouflaged EV4 liftback looks an awful lot like the concept shown off by Kia in October 2023 – that’s nothing new for the design-forward Korean brand. It’s difficult to see any details of the body’s flanks but poking through is a twin rear spoiler, vertical LED lighting details at the rear and a dramatically sloping roofline. The liftback barely has a horizontal boot surface and is almost EV6-like. The unique aero alloy wheels with a tri-spoke polished face appear as though they may make production, too. The EV4 will be longer than the just-revealed EV3 but a little smaller overall than the EV5. Much like those two products, the Kia EV4 is pitched as a more affordable electric car for Kia. That means it will almost certainly use Kia’s front-wheel drive E-GMP variant with 400-volt architecture and smaller battery sizes than the flagship EV6 and EV9.The EV3 packs an 81.4kWh NCM battery in long range trim and a 58.3kWh battery in the standard range.Given it will share many parts with the EV3 and EV5, vehicles coming to Australia could be built in China and utilise more affordable and stable Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry as the EV5 will for local consumption. Kia Executive Vice President Woo Jeong Joo put a lot of pressure on the brand’s electric cars succeeding back in January.  “Electric vehicles are the biggest influence on Kia’s sales and profits. We plan to flexibly respond to market changes in the medium to long term,” he said.“The EV3, EV4, and EV5 will be launched sequentially, and we are determined to make these three models successful.”  Details like price are yet to be announced, however the Kia EV3’s starting price in its home market is 39.95 million won, equivalent to $43,200 here. An EV4 would be a little more expensive but could still start around the $50K mark.When production beings in 2025, the EV4 could be a very unique proposition as the only ‘small’ electric sedan. With the electric mid-size sedan segment proving popular here with the circa 4.8m-long BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3, the EV4 could be set for success. CarsGuide has contacted Kia Australia for further information. We will know more closer to the EV4’s full release expected for the first half of 2025. 

Kia has no interest in entering into the battle to deliver Australia's cheapest electric vehicle, instead vowing to deliver value to its customers, no matter the sticker price on its vehicles.Australia's three cheapest electric vehicles are all from Chinese brands – the MG4, BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora – and all list at a hyper-competitive sub-$40k starting price for their entry-level models.It's a price point that, so far, is yet to be matched by Australia's more established models. And it's a battle that Kia in Australia will look to avoid, suggesting its days of challenger-brand battles are long behind it.Instead, Kia says its name recognition, brand values and legacy in Australia will combine to create value for consumers."We will always compete,” says Kia Australia CEO, Damien Meredith.“But if you’re developing your brand – and we’ve put a lot of work into that – and getting great product, if you can easily translate that to the customer that this is still great value, like the EV9, then do you really want to play in the puddle that is $30,000, or $25,000?"You just need to make those decisions if you want to play in that price point. If you can stay at $40k-$50k, $50k-$60k, and there’s still value, that’s what we’re looking at."If something becomes available, like a smaller EV that’s $40k, we’ll have our hand up for it. But you need to be cautious. We’ve worked hard on getting our brand up, and you need to keep looking at that."Kia's EV portfolio currently spans three vehicles, the Niro, the EV6 and EV9. A Chinese-manufactured EV5 will launch in Australia next year, bringing the brand's tally in Australia to four.But with a plan to launch an electric vehicle at least per year, and a lot of numbers below '5', Kia insists it isn't leaving the affordable market behind, while making the distinction that value doesn't mean cheap.At a recent EV Day, the brand unveiled the EV4 and EV3, which will further lower the cost of entry to a Kia electric vehicle."Kia Australia is heavily invested in the global strategy, and we’ve got out hand up for as many (EVs) as we can get our hands on," says the brand's product planning boss, Roland Rivero.

Recycled materials are one thing, but Kia wants to grow its next-generation interiors from mushrooms.

Kia's has thrown the covers of a concept version of its incoming EV4 - an unusual take on the classic three-box sedan.