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 reasonably priced EV.
Whether or not U.S. clients will gravitate in 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 convey 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 decent vary, inside options, tech touches it might lastly give shoppers another choice. Whereas Kia hasn’t but shared U.S. pricing, some have estimated that it could 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 worth vary to TechCrunch.
“The EV4 makes all-electric possession accessible for these clients who’re looking for a extra sensible and reasonably priced choice on the EV panorama whereas nonetheless needing a sophisticated, technology-driven in-car expertise,” Steven Heart, COO and EVP of Kia America, stated in a press release. “The arrival of the EV4 underscores Kia’s total efforts to boost the enchantment 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, nevertheless, that engaging worth level could possibly be in danger. President Donald Trump’s proposed automotive tariffs threaten so as to add 25% to the price of any imported car — 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 unattainable to say what consumers can be dealing with a yr from now.
The Kia EV4 does have a number of issues going for it that might make a purchaser threat the tariffs, most notably its respectable vary. The usual 58.3 kWh battery, which comes with the “Mild” trim, has a variety 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 stated it targeted on aerodynamics for the EV4, which seemingly helped enhance these vary numbers. The car 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 automotive’s battery to cost gadgets like laptops and smaller electronics.
The EV4 additionally expenses with a DC fast-charger at a decent half-hour, and its NACS charging port is positioned on the entrance passenger facet for simple accessibility.
Kia additionally performed up its i-Pedal 3.0 system within the Ev4, which ecaptures vitality and shops it within the battery, however provides drivers extra management over the pace of deceleration utilizing solely the accelerator pedal.
Now, onto the appears.
Kia’s 2026 EV4 has an fascinating aesthetic; form 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 automotive, and from the rear, vertical taillights, a two-piece roof spoiler, and smooth bumper design give it a extra aerodynamic, tech-forward presence.
Talking of tech, the automotive boasts your commonplace futuristic, minimalistic, high-tech inside. Standouts embrace the two-spoke steering wheel, 64-color dynamic ambient lighting, a free-floating person interface comprised of twin 12.3-inch screens and a five-inch local weather show. That’s the place yow 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 presents the possibility to boost connectivity and leisure options by way of over-the-air updates, together with including personalised show themes throughout the cockpit like your “favourite NBA crew” for all of the environment-loving tremendous followers on the market.
By way of different tech-forward options, the drivers can entry their EV4 by way of Kia’s digital key by way of their cell telephones, and Kia’s AI Assistant makes use of voice recognition and pure language processing to assist drivers management car features, journey plan, and extra.
The EV4 additionally comes commonplace with a collection of driver help options, together with Kia’s Freeway Driving Help, which routinely adjusts the car’s set pace to match the posted pace restrict and maintains distance from the car forward. Kia’s ADAS additionally contains help with ahead collision avoidance, lane following, distant sensible parking, driver consideration warning, and hands-on steering wheel detection.