Bangkok 2024: Kia EV5 makes SE Asia debut

The Bangkok International Motor Show usually serves as a major launchpad for the Southeast Asian market, and this year is no exception.

Kia has launched the all-new EV5 – a compact crossover EV that’s poised to enter the Philippine market sometime this year. It has been confirmed by Kia Philippines distributor AC Mobility, so this gives us a good look at what we could expect from the EV5 once it arrives in the country.

The EV5 made its global debut back in October 2023. Following the “Opposites United” design philosophy, the compact crossover EV looks every bit of a scaled down version of the larger EV9.  The EV5 has the traditional upright proportions of an SUV with well-sculpted bodywork, while its light signatures both at the front and rear dictate the identity of the EV on the road.

Size-wise, the EV5 measures 4615mm long, 1875mm wide, and 1715mm tall, along with a 2750mm wheelbase. This puts the EV5 under the EV6 both in size and in Kia’s model range.

Inside, the EV5 has the typical dual screen setup – two of which measures 12.3 inches. As with the EV6 and EV9, the dashboard follows a minimalist design but remains fitted with physical controls for easy operation of the interior functions.

For the Thai market, the EV5 is being offered with two powertrain options – the first is a front-wheel-drive, single motor setup with 217 PS and 310 Nm of torque that’s paired to a 64.2 kWh battery or an 88 kWh unit for the Long Range variant. The standard version can reach up to 490 km of range in a single charge while the Long Range version reaches up to 665 km.

The range-topping EV5 for Thailand is the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive called the Earth Exclusive. Thanks to an additional electric motor, total system output goes up to 313 PS and 480 Nm of torque. It uses the Long Range version’s 88 kWh battery which enables it to reach up to 620 km on a single charge.

Meanwhile, despite having the same E-GMP platform as the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, the EV6 and EV9, the EV5 only comes with a 400-volt electric architecture. This means it can’t charge as quickly as its platform siblings. But still, Kia claims that with the right DC fast charger, the EV5 can go from 30% to 80% State of Charge (SoC) in about 27 minutes; a step down from the EV6 which can charge from 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes.

In Thailand, prices of the EV5 range from THB 1.249 to 1.749 million, which is around PHP 1.9 to 2.7 million in our currency. For now, we’re not yet sure which variant is coming to the country, but we’ll eventually have those details once we move closer to the EV5’s launch in the Philippines.