Kia confirms tiny EV for 2027

Kia just used an investor presentation to confirm it still wants to sell very small electric cars in Europe, even after years of the market drifting toward bigger sport utility vehicles. On April 9, Kia said it will add a new battery-electric B-segment hatchback by 2027 as part of a 14-model electric lineup. (kia.com, prnewswire.com) That matters because Kia’s current small electric story starts with the EV2, which is a taller small sport utility vehicle, not a tiny city hatchback. The new hatchback fills the gap below or beside that car for buyers who want something closer to a modern Picanto-sized runabout. (kia.com, autoexpress.co.uk) Kia did not say “EV1” in the official investor release, but outside reports tie this 2027 hatchback to the long-rumored EV1 project. Auto Express reported CEO Ho Sung Song’s comments as confirmation that the car is coming, with the paper describing it as a rival to the Renault Twingo and Volkswagen’s incoming entry model. (prnewswire.com, autoexpress.co.uk) The fight here is over price as much as size. Renault says the new Twingo E-Tech electric will launch in Europe at under 20,000 euros, and Volkswagen says its production version of the ID. EVERY1 will arrive in 2027 at around 20,000 euros. (media.renault.com, volkswagen-newsroom.com) That price band has been hard for carmakers to hit with battery power, because a small car has less room to hide battery cost in a higher sticker price. Kia’s own executives had already hinted that cracking the small-car formula would require a car that still feels distinct enough to avoid becoming a bare-bones penalty box. (autocar.co.uk, autoexpress.co.uk) Europe is the obvious battleground because that is where tiny hatchbacks still make everyday sense on narrow streets, expensive fuel, and tight parking. Kia’s 2026 investor targets also single out Europe for 746,000 annual sales by 2030, which helps explain why a cheaper urban electric car is back on the agenda. (prnewswire.com, media.renault.com) Kia is making this move while trimming some of its broader electric ambitions. The same April 9 plan lowered Kia’s 2030 annual electric-vehicle sales target to 1 million units, down from the 1.26 million target it had set before, while still expanding the lineup to 14 models. (prnewswire.com, thenextweb.com) So the message is not that every electric car will get smaller. The message is that carmakers now think there is room for a split market, with bigger electric sport utility vehicles carrying the margins and a new batch of 20,000-euro city cars trying to bring back the buyers who were priced out of the first electric wave. (prnewswire.com, volkswagen-newsroom.com, media.renault.com) If Kia keeps its 2027 timing, the company will land almost exactly when Volkswagen plans its cheapest electric car and about a year after Renault’s rebooted Twingo reaches showrooms. That turns a niche little city-car revival into a real three-way contest. (autoexpress.co.uk, volkswagen-newsroom.com, media.renault.com)