Kia’s electric van delivers more driving range in the real world at 260 miles — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Kia PV5 Passenger with the 71.2 kWh long-range battery traveled 260 miles (420 km) in the NAF El Prix Summer EV Range Test, surpassing its official WLTP rating of 256 miles (412 km).
- Kia Europe's PBV Director Erhan Eren said the independent results confirm the PV5 Passenger meets everyday family mobility needs in both urban and long-distance driving.
- The PV5 recorded an average energy consumption of 4.5 miles/kWh (13.8 kWh/100km) and ranked among the top five family vehicles for WLTP deviation in the test.
- Kia's electric van charged from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes via 150 kW DC fast charging, matching the brand's official claims.
- The PV5 Cargo variant set a Guinness World Record last November, covering 30.84 miles (693.38 km) on a single charge while carrying a full load.
- Kia offers the PV5 in Passenger, Cargo, Crew, Open Bed, and Chassis Cab configurations, and accounted for 9% of Europe's eLCV sales in Q1.
- A US launch for the PV5 appears unlikely because the van is built at Kia's dedicated PBV plant in South Korea, exposing it to Trump administration import tariffs.
Why it matters: The PV5 already commands 9% of Europe's eLCV market, and beating its range rating in a third-party test strengthens Kia's claim that the platform is production-ready for fleet and family buyers. US shoppers, however, are effectively locked out: the van is built in South Korea, where Trump-era import tariffs make a domestic launch uneconomical for now.
Ask SkimNews
![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)
![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)