Kia has no plans to bring its EV2 small city car to the United States anytime soon.
See also: Volvo shows off the range and charging speed of the EX60
Kia has unveiled the EV2, a small and affordable electric vehicle designed for the European market. The EV2 made its debut at the Brussels Auto Show, where executives touted it as the “most compact” electric vehicle to date.
Of course, it's another in a long line of affordable, capable, and impressively designed electric vehicles that won't be available to American customers — at least not immediately. And it comes at a time when Europeans have plenty of affordable options to choose from, potentially complicating Kia's EV2 strategy.
The EV2 will be available in two versions: a Standard-range version, with a 42.2kWh battery and a range of 317 km based on the WLTP cycle; and a Long-range version, with a 61kWh battery and a range of over 440 km. The Standard-range EV2 will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 8.7 seconds, while the Long-range will do so in 9.5 seconds.
See also: Volkswagen: Announces the end of small gasoline cars
The EV2 features a clean, squared-off profile with sleek surfaces, tall, upright proportions and signature LED daytime running lights front and rear, in a clear reflection of Kia’s current design direction. When launched, it will slot below the EV3 and EV4, the latter of which is scheduled to enter production before the EV2. Like the EV3, the EV2 will be built on a scaled-down version of Hyundai’s Electric Vehicle General Manufacturing Platform (E-GMP) to keep costs down.
That means a 400-volt architecture, rather than 800 volts, for faster charging. Kia says both versions of the EV2 will fast-charge from 10-80 percent in 30 minutes, which is a bit slower than the 20-25 minutes it takes for the EV6 and EV9 to do the same. In a first for Kia, the EV2 will support both 11kW and 22kW AC charging, acknowledging the dominant charging format in Europe.
The EV2 also supports bidirectional charging, as well as vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid charging.
But just because the EV2 is small and not a luxury car doesn't mean it won't have some extra features. Kia is equipping its new model with a range of ADAS features, such as adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking, as well as remote smart parking, allowing owners to park their vehicles from outside using the key.
See also: Lucid Air: Access to Tesla's Supercharger network
Kia says the standard-range model will begin production at its Slovakian plant in February 2026, followed by the long-range version and GT versions in June 2026. That, plus American car buyers’ apparent aversion to small cars, means the EV2 is unlikely to make it to the U.S. It’s a shame, too. Americans would probably respond favorably to a $20,000 electric car, which is what the EV2 is estimated to cost.
