The Kia EV3 Sure Looks Like A Baby EV9

We’ve had the Kia EV6, then the EV9, so you can guess what’s coming next – EV12, right? No, don’t be silly. The numbers in the names of Kia’s bespoke EVs represent their size, and since the EV9 is already roughly the size of Gloucestershire, don’t expect anything bigger than that.

No, the next Euro-market arrival in Kia’s multi-pronged EV rollout will be the EV3, the smallest and most affordable yet from the brand’s imaginatively-named lineup of EV-only cars. Likely to slot neatly into the compact crossover class, it’s been around half a year since we saw it in concept form, and we now know that the production car will be unveiled on 23 May.

Accompanying this announcement are some teaser images which show that the finished product won’t stray too far from the concept. There’s the same ‘floating’ roof; large, slender light units and boxy black arch cladding. The concept looked near-as-makes-no-difference production-ready anyway, so we certainly don’t expect a radical departure.

That being said, it almost certainly won’t carry over some of the more concept-y features like rear-hinged back doors and seats upholstered in mycelium, a fabric made from mushroom roots (no, really).

We’re still in the dark on powertrain details, but there’ll likely be single- and dual-motor variants and eventually, a performance-geared GT range-topper. It’ll replace the funky but dated Soul EV in Kia’s lineup and could start at less than £30k.

Further down the line, there’ll be plenty more EVx-badged Kias: the EV5 crossover has already been unveiled for the Chinese market and will come to Europe in 2025, while the angular fastback EV4, also previewed in concept form last year, will likely follow in 2026.