The global debut of the new “green” SUV of the Korean brand will take place on May 23. This SUV will go on sale later this year.
The South Korean brand presented the EV3 concept subcompact crossover at Kia EV Day, an event held in October last year. Now the manufacturer is already at the final stage of developing a serial version of this SUV, which has decided to keep its previous name. As with the EV9 and EV5, the commercial version will be little different from the show car.
Pictured: concept Kia EV3
The world debut of the new “green” Kia SUV will take place in about a couple of weeks, on May 23. In the meantime, the company decided to show several teasers of the production version of the electric car. Judging by these shots, the production version of the EV3 will have few changes compared to last year's concept of the same name.
< p>Thus, the SUV was left with approximately the same shape of the head optics, although the “tail” running along the sides under the edge of the hood became shorter. The light pattern of the headlights has also been changed, but the role of LED DRLs is still played by thin lines. The models left a body kit around the perimeter of the body, made of unpainted plastic (including “squared” linings on the wheel arches).
Teaser of the serial crossover Kia EV3
The headlights of the serial crossover have the same “branched” shape as the concept, but have a slightly different “filling”. There is a camera in the center of the wide plate that runs across the entire width of the tailgate. At the top of the fifth door there is a laconic spoiler with an integrated brake light, similar to the one on the show car.
The interior of the commercial Kia EV3 SUV has not yet been shown in teasers; it is expected that it will receive a number of changes compared to the conceptual version. Let us remind you that the show car received a horizontally elongated display that combines a virtual instrument panel and a touchscreen of the infotainment system, as well as a two-spoke steering wheel “flattened” on both sides. Its feature is a lifting rear seat cushion, which allows you to place, for example, an electric scooter behind the first row in order to charge it from a car outlet.
The Kia EV3 will be based on the E-GMP platform developed by Hyundai Motor, while unlike the EV 9, the 800-volt architecture will be replaced by a 400-volt one. It is assumed that the models will offer a choice of a pair of traction batteries – with a capacity of 58 and 77.4 kWh. Probably, the starting versions of the crossover will have one electric motor, and more expensive versions will be equipped with a dual-motor power plant.
In the photo : interior of the Kia EV3 1/3 concept 
In the photo: interior of the Kia EV3 2/3 concept 
In the photo: interior of the Kia EV3 3/3 concept
The company noted that sales of the new “green” SUV will begin later this year, there is no more specific date yet. It was previously reported that the main markets for Kia electric vehicles are the USA, Europe, China, India and South Korea. The estimated price tag for EV3 in the States is now known: according to Automotive News, the cost can start at 32 thousand dollars (equivalent to approximately 2.9 million rubles at the current exchange rate).