Kia PV7 EV Van Spotted Testing in US After Unveiling — SkimNews
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- Kia officially unveiled the PV7 electric van at IAA Transportation on Monday, its second model from the Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) lineup after the PV5
- The PV7 measures over 17.5 feet (5,350 mm) long, about 2 feet longer than the PV5, and launches in Passenger (up to 9 seats, 11 in Korea) and Cargo (up to 8 cubic meters High Roof) variants
- The PV7 will offer 71.5 kWh or 96.2 kWh NCM battery packs with over 285 miles of WLTP range for the Long Range Cargo, an 800V architecture enabling 10–80% charging in about 25 minutes on a 350 kW DC fast charger, and FWD standard with an AWD variant planned
- A disguised PV7 prototype was spotted hot-weather testing in the US on the same day as the unveiling, in images captured by KindelAuto
- Kia plans to launch the PV7 in Korea and Europe in the second half of 2027, with 23 variants planned in total, but the PV5 was previously caught testing in the US multiple times and still has not gone on sale there
- Ho Sung Song, Kia's president and CEO, said the PV7 was unveiled in Hanover, Germany because it targets Europe's light commercial vehicle segment, and Kia builds its electric vans at a dedicated South Korea plant, exposing any US imports to the Trump Administration's import tax
Why it matters: US commercial buyers hoping for a larger Kia electric van face a double hurdle: Kia builds the PV7 at a South Korean plant, making any US imports subject to Trump Administration import taxes, and CEO Ho Sung Song explicitly positioned the van for Europe's light commercial market. The PV5's repeated US testing without a US launch suggests spy shots alone don't guarantee stateside availability.
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![The Kia PV7 is even bigger than expected and has a range of over 460 km [Images]](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/09/Kia-PV7-EV-range.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1400)
![Kia’s new EV van is over 17.5 ft long and can haul 9 people or lots of cargo [Images]](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/09/Kia-PV7-EV-van-images.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1400)
![Kia’s larger electric van caught with less camo ahead of its ‘big’ debut [Images]](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/08/Kia-PV7-caught.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1400)
![The Kia PV5 is getting a bigger sibling: Here’s our first look at the PV7 [Video]](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/06/Kia-PV7-EV-van-first-look.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1400)
