Kia debuted its 2026 EV4 sedan on the New York Worldwide Auto Present on Wednesday, its first world electrical sedan and one designed for patrons searching for an inexpensive EV.
Whether or not U.S. prospects will gravitate in the direction of a sedan is an open query — and one Kia isn’t essentially betting on. The corporate launched gross sales of the EV4 in South Korea and plans to deliver it to Europe by the tip of the yr. Gross sales in United States are anticipated to start within the final quarter of 2025 or first quarter of 2026, a Kia spokesperson informed TechCrunch.
Kia’s main pitch with the EV4 is affordability, and with a good vary, inside options, tech touches it may lastly give shoppers another choice. Whereas Kia hasn’t but shared U.S. pricing, some have estimated that it might begin at round $35,000, including one other competitor to the Tesla Mannequin 3. Eric Watson, VP of gross sales at Kia America, confirmed the ballpark value vary to TechCrunch.
“The EV4 makes all-electric possession accessible for these prospects who’re searching for a extra sensible and inexpensive possibility on the EV panorama whereas nonetheless wanting a complicated, technology-driven in-car expertise,” Steven Middle, COO and EVP of Kia America, mentioned in an announcement. “The arrival of the EV4 underscores Kia’s general efforts to reinforce the attraction of electrical mobility to a wider viewers — an viewers that’s been witnessing the joy round EVs for fairly a while and at the moment are able to expertise the excellent advantages for themselves.”
For U.S. consumers, nonetheless, that enticing value level might be in danger. President Donald Trump’s proposed automotive tariffs threaten so as to add 25% to the price of any imported automobile — together with the EV4, which Kia plans to construct in South Korea and launch stateside within the first quarter of 2026. With the tariff panorama shifting by the day, it’s not possible to say what consumers will likely be dealing with a yr from now.
The Kia EV4 does have a number of issues going for it that might make a purchaser danger the tariffs, most notably its first rate vary. The usual 58.3 kWh battery, which comes with the “Mild” trim, has a spread of 235 miles, and the long-range 81.4 kWh battery, which comes with the “Wind” or “GT-Line” trims, can go as much as 330 miles.
Kia mentioned it targeted on aerodynamics for the EV4, which possible helped increase these vary numbers. The automobile has a coefficient drag of .23 — the identical because the Tesla Mannequin 3.
Each battery configurations present energy to the front-mounted 150 kW motors. And with V2L4 performance, drivers can use the automobile’s battery to cost units like laptops and smaller electronics.
The EV4 additionally fees with a DC fast-charger at a good half-hour, and its NACS charging port is situated on the entrance passenger facet for simple accessibility.
Kia additionally performed up its i-Pedal 3.0 system within the Ev4, which ecaptures power and shops it within the battery, however offers drivers extra management over the pace of deceleration utilizing solely the accelerator pedal.
Now, onto the seems to be.
Kia’s 2026 EV4 has an fascinating aesthetic; kind of a enterprise within the entrance, occasion within the again vibe. Head on, you possibly can see the low nostril, long-tail silhouette, and fastback roofline of a traditional sports activities automobile, and from the rear, vertical taillights, a two-piece roof spoiler, and modern bumper design give it a extra aerodynamic, tech-forward presence.
Talking of tech, the automobile boasts your normal futuristic, minimalistic, high-tech inside. Standouts embrace the two-spoke steering wheel, 64-color dynamic ambient lighting, a free-floating consumer interface comprised of twin 12.3-inch screens and a five-inch local weather show. That’s the place you will discover all of your navigation and leisure options, together with wi-fi Apple Carplay and Android Auto.
Like Kia’s different EVs, the EV4 additionally affords the possibility to reinforce connectivity and leisure options by over-the-air updates, together with including personalised show themes throughout the cockpit like your “favourite NBA workforce” for all of the environment-loving tremendous followers on the market.
When it comes to different tech-forward options, the drivers can entry their EV4 by way of Kia’s digital key by their cell telephones, and Kia’s AI Assistant makes use of voice recognition and pure language processing to assist drivers management automobile features, journey plan, and extra.
The EV4 additionally comes normal with a collection of driver help options, together with Kia’s Freeway Driving Help, which robotically adjusts the automobile’s set pace to match the posted pace restrict and maintains distance from the automobile forward. Kia’s ADAS additionally consists of help with ahead collision avoidance, lane following, distant sensible parking, driver consideration warning, and hands-on steering wheel detection.
