Do not be fooled by its size. What the newly unveiled Kia EV2 lacks in size, it more than compensates with ambition as it prepares to jump in the ring of affordable compact EVs and take on the fighters of the Middle Kingdom. The EV2 debuted at the 2026 Brussels Motor Show and will be
Do not be fooled by its size. What the newly unveiled Kia EV2 lacks in size, it more than compensates with ambition as it prepares to jump in the ring of affordable compact EVs and take on the fighters of the Middle Kingdom.
The EV2 debuted at the 2026 Brussels Motor Show and will be assembled in Slovakia. From a cosmetic perspective, it carries the zany design language of Kia’s EVs, drawing heavy inspiration from its EV3 and EV9 big brothers.
It measures in at 4,060 mm long, 1,800 mm wide and 1,575 mm tall with a 2,565 mm wheelbase. That makes it a full 80 mm shorter than the retro-inspired Renault 4 E-Tech that it will line up against. Over in this corner of the world, the EV2 is closer in size to the Proton eMas 5 but much smaller than the BYD Atto 2.
It will ride on the E-GMP EV-specific platform with 400 V architecture and two battery choices.
A standard range EV2 will come with a 42.2 kWh pack driving the 145 PS front electric motor and be good for a WLTP-rated range of 317 km.
If you need to go the extra mile, a larger 61.0 kWh battery pack is available and brings 448 km to the table. However, the motor in this variant packs a smaller 136 PS punch and with more poundage to lug around, is slower in the century sprint. Both do top out at 160 kph.
There will be no all-wheel drive EV2 as the torsion rear beam suspension setup simply does not allow the room to mount an electric motor in the rear.
Charging speeds are 11 kW for the smaller battery and 22 kW for the larger one. DC fast charging is available but Kia has not revealed the details yet. It did state that the standard range can be charged in around 29 minutes while the long range takes a little more at 30 minutes.
The EV2 will support vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability as well as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality, allowing it to channel back electricity into the power grid.
Apart from the battery capacity, buyers will have the options of two rear seat configuration, a four- and five-seat versions. The former will consist of two rear individual seats while the latter is the usual bench with a split-folding back rest.
Cargo capacity for the four-seater goes up to 403 litres with the individual seats pushed forward but for both variants keeping the rear seats in the standard configuration, cargo room is rated at 332 litres. There is also a 15-litre frunk.
Nobody likes to use the terms cheap so in an effort to spruce up the interior, Kia has fitted fabric trim and ambient lighting elements on the dashboard and the doors.
The dashboard itself houses the twin 12.3-inch screens for the instrument cluster and infotainment but with a smaller 5.3-inch climate control touchscreen wedged in between them. Fortunately, there re physical toggles for the climate control below the central vents. There is even a physical scroll wheel for audio and a capacitive strip for infotainment shortcuts below the central touchscreen.
Additional features include an eight-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system, a digital key for your smartphone and a smartphone app for remote connectivity.
Safety comprises autonomous emergency braking, a 360-degree camera, remote park assist, blind-spot monitoring, lane keeping assistance and rear cross-traffic alert.
Production of the EV2 will roll out in February of this year, starting with the standard range. It remains to be seen if the compact EV will make its way to this side of the world but given that Kia has a national sales company here now, never say never.