Kia PV5 hits price parity

Kia’s new PV5 electric van is now priced close enough to diesel rivals in Australia that buyers can compare them on sticker price, not just fuel savings. (evcentral.com.au) Kia Australia set the PV5 Cargo S Long Range at A$55,990 before on-road costs, with showroom arrivals due in late May 2026. Local outlets including Drive, WhichCar and CarExpert all described it as the cheapest electric van on sale in Australia. (drive.com.au, whichcar.com.au, carexpert.com.au) The benchmark diesel is the Toyota HiAce, Australia’s dominant work van. EV Central and CarsGuide put the cheapest 2026 HiAce manual at A$51,880, while Toyota’s own site lists current HiAce pricing as drive-away and location-dependent. (evcentral.com.au, carsguide.com.au, toyota.com.au) That gap matters because electric vans have usually asked small-business buyers to pay more upfront and wait for lower running costs to make up the difference. The PV5 narrows that first hurdle to a few thousand Australian dollars before registration, dealer delivery and other on-road charges. (evcentral.com.au, drive.com.au) Kia is launching only one Australian version first: the S Long Range. WhichCar and CarsGuide reported a 71.2 kilowatt-hour battery and a 416-kilometer range on the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, the lab test used to compare electric-vehicle range. (whichcar.com.au, carsguide.com.au) The van also marks Kia’s return to the Australian van market after roughly two decades. WhichCar said the brand’s previous local van, the Pregio, left the market in 2006. (whichcar.com.au) Price is only one part of the comparison. Zecar reported the PV5’s payload at 690 kilograms, lower than many diesel work vans, which means fleets hauling heavier tools or freight may still favor diesel models despite the lower operating costs of an electric drivetrain. (zecar.com) Kia showed the PV5 publicly at the Melbourne Motor Show ahead of its late-May launch, with more variants and full local specifications still to come. For now, the sales pitch is simple: an electric van that lands in the same price conversation as a HiAce. (evcentral.com.au, whichcar.com.au)