Kia EV2 concept previews soulful small EV due in 2026

Kia on Thursday unveiled the Concept EV2, which previews an electric subcompact crossover expected to enter production in 2026.

Shown at the automaker’s EV Day presentation in Tarragona, Spain, alongside a handful of other electric vehicles, the boxy EV2 almost looks like an heir to the Kia Soul EV, which was sold in the U.S. in limited numbers from model years 2015 to 2019. A second-generation Soul EV was offered in other markets but it never made it to the U.S., even though it had an official 243-mile EPA range rating.

At 169.3 inches long, the EV2 is 4.1 inches longer than the current gasoline Kia Soul, and about the same length as the Kia EV3 electric crossover unveiled last May. That footprint puts both Kia vehicles between the Hyundai Kona Electric and Volvo EX30, two of the smaller EVs to reach the U.S., excepting the Fiat 500e that’s more than two feet shorter than the EV2. 

Fanciful features like suicide doors (which Kia fully committed to by deleting the central roof pillar) likely won’t make it to production, but the flat floor, wide-opening tailgate, and pop-up cargo divider system might. The interior also features removable triangular speakers, a dashboard-spanning display, and the ability to project messages onto windows to communicate with other road users. Kia also claims to be developing an AI voice assistant for future EVs.

Kia has provided few technical details, but the EV2 is expected to use the same lower-cost version of the E-GMP dedicated EV architecture as the EV3. Cost-cutting is expected to include 400-volt charging in place of the 800-volt charging in other E-GMP models, although Kia said the EV2 will retain the bidirectional charging capability built into that platform.

The Concept EV2 was revealed alongside the production-ready EV4, a compact model to be offered in sedan and hatchback body styles, and the PV5 electric van. Kia has indicated that it’s mulling bringing the EV3 and EV4, as well as the PV5 van to the U.S., but it’s unclear if the EV2 might be sold here as well.