Kia EV3 will be positioned below EV6 along with upcoming EV5 and EV4 and immediate rivals in India are likely to be upcoming Mahindra BE.05
The recently revealed Kia EV3 has been making quite a buzz in the automotive industry. This will be Kia’s smallest offering in its global EV lineup. The company has now aired its first official TVC, showing what it’s ethos was when revealing EV3 to the world. India is a potential market for EV3 and should rival other compact electric SUVs.
New Kia EV3 Compact SUV Detailed In First Official TVC
In a bid to aggressively expand its global electric vehicle footprint, Kia has been navigating the automotive industry with many enthusiast vehicles. Starting with EV6 and the recently launched EV9, Kia has commenced its advances in global mobility.
However, the company needs a smaller and more inexpensive model to establish the desired volumes and have better outreach. In Kia’s own words, “EV3 might seat 5, but it moves everyone into the EV era”. Volumes Kia can’t achieve with halo cars like EV6 and EV9, might just be a cakewalk for EV3.
EV3’s first TVC highlights the company’s target demographic. Which is, the masses. Kia is not targeting niches here and EV3 will likely emerge appealing to almost every substratum like first-time car buyers, Gen Z, Millennials, adventure folk, sensible folk, corporate professionals, nomads, free-spirits and everything in between.
To make it appealing to a wide range of audience, Kia has made a lot of right decisions. For starters, this is a 4.3m long electric crossover SUV that proudly dons Kia’s “Opposites Unite” design language. On EV3, this design somewhat resembles the BMW XM, especially with its elongated rear doors.
What stands out is its 1.85m width, further accentuated by its wrap-around LED DRL signatures. It is 1.56m tall and has a long 2.68m wheelbase with very minimal overhangs. There is a 25L frunk under the bonnet, enough to hold the car’s AC charging socket. Trunk is of decent size at 460L which can be extended to 1,250L with rear seats folded.
Up to 81.4 kWh battery
It borrows a lot of interior bits from the more premium EV6. We get overall similar eco-friendly and re-purposed plastics on the inside, fabric dashboard, the two 12.3-inch wide screens forming a hypothetical 30-inch panel, few physical buttons, new steering wheel with an off-set Kia logo, an extendable table at the front, seat functions on respective doors and more.
Where powertrains are concerned, Come on EV3 offers buyers the option of choosing between 58.3 kWh and 81.4 kWh battery packs. Choosing the former, there is a 410 km range and a max 100 kW DC charging support and choosing the latter will unlock 560 km claimed range (600 km in a few test cycles) and a 130 kW DC charging.
Both versions get a sole electric motor with 200 bhp peak power and 285 Nm peak torque. 0-100 km/h sprint should take about 7 seconds and top speed is likely to be around 170 km/h. When launched in India, we can expect it to only offer the smaller 58.3 kWh battery and cost around Rs. 30 lakh, pitting it against premium compact electric SUVs like upcoming Mahindra BE.05.
