Kia EV3 & EV4 Concepts Preview Marque’s Future Affordable EVs

New Kia EV3 and EV4 arrives as brand's latest concept models, previewing future affordable EVs

Kia Motors’ inaugural EV Day saw the Korean marque unveil two new EV concepts, cordially named the Kia EV3 Concept and EV4 Concept. Beyond its design concept purposes, these two new concepts will serve as a platform for marque’s future affordable EVs, set to enter production as early as next year.

Kia EV3 Concept

Starting off with the EV3 Concept, this compact EV SUV will sit below the newly-launched EV5 in the marque’s EV lineup. Similar to both the EV5 and EV9, the EV3 Concept boasts a typical boxy SUV silhouette, featuring a similar front face as its two bigger siblings, albeit with softer lines and edges.

From the side, you’ll notice that the EV3 sports a pretty raking roofline, giving it a slight sporty edge over the boxy-tastic EV5 and EV9. Elsewhere, the concept SUV also rides on a set of funky-looking wheels, but we’d reckon its production twin will get something subtler and simpler.

Inside, Kia said the EV3’s cabin is designed using a concept that promotes “emotional well-being.” As a result, the EV3 concept gets a soft ambient lighting system, ergonomic seats, all laced with a pretty minimalist front dash design. Moreover, the seats are wrapped in unique upholstery material made from natural fibres, which the Korean marque claims to have almost similar strength to conventional carbon fibre.

Kia EV4 Concept

Moving on to the EV4 Concept, this future Tesla Model 3 fighter features similar design language derived from both the EV5 and EV9, albeit in a sleeker saloon body form.

Touted as the all-electric successor to the discontinued Kia Stinger saloon, the EV4 Concept boasts some pretty interesting design features that sets it apart from other conventional sedans. Chief amongst which are its fastback-style swooping roofline and snout front end –  both giving this EV concept a very sleek and sporty silhouette. Other than that, the EV4’s sharp LED headlights look similar to what we saw on the EV3, while the taillights design looks somewhat ‘unfinished’, if you get what we mean.

On board, the interior of the EV4 Concept follows the same path as the EV3, incorporating several new zero-waste materials. For starters, the EV4’s central console is wrapped in fibres made from the hemp plant, while the cabin’s upholstery is made of recycled cotton that has been dyed naturally using walnut shells and madder roots.

On top of that, the EV4’s cabin also comes with a new ‘Mind Modes’ that automatically adjusts the ambient lighting and A/C to provide a different kind of ambience for passengers and drivers. For example, the ‘Serenity’ mode creates a more relaxed ambience by dimming the ambient lighting, adjust the A/C control, while the infotainment screen displays a range of calming digital graphics.

Though not mentioned by Kia, we suspect both the EV3 and EV4 will underpin Hyundai Motor's proprietary E-GMP EV platform with 800-volt battery architecture

Unfortunately, Kia has yet to reveal any performance bits for both the EV3 and EV4 concepts. However, we reckon both models will underpin the same E-GMP platform used on its bigger siblings, allowing the EV3 and EV4 to be equipped with battery packs with a capacity of up to 77.4-kWh and stellar charging performance – the latter stemming from the E-GMP’s 800-volt architecture.

Both the EV3 and EV4 will join Kia's new EV lineup as early as 2024

As we mentioned earlier, both the Kia EV3 and EV4 concepts will be turned into a full production model later in 2024. As the more affordable options in Kia’s new EV range, both the EV3 and EV4 are poised for a pretty reasonable price tag of $30,000 (RM140,000 approx.). 

Once their production versions are launched, both of these models will spearhead Kia’s ambitious electromobility goal of selling its first million electric vehicles by 2026 and projecting annual EV sales to exceed 1.6 million units by the end of the decade.