Kia’s rumoured £17k EV1 could make electric cars properly affordable

Kia looks set to push further into the affordable EV market with reports of a tiny new electric city car called the Kia EV1 arriving in 2028.

And if the early details are accurate, this could be one of the most important small EV launches for fleets and salary sacrifice drivers in years.

Expected to start from around £17,000 in the UK, the EV1 would sit below the existing Kia EV2 (pictured above) and rival cars like the Renault 5 E-Tech, BYD Dolphin and even budget petrol hatchbacks that fleets still rely on today.

The big story is not just price. Kia says the EV1 is being developed specifically for Europe, with compact dimensions designed for tighter roads and urban driving in places like London, Paris and Rome.

Reports suggest it could replace the ageing Kia Picanto and become Kia’s first “software-defined vehicle”, bringing features normally reserved for much more expensive cars, including advanced motorway driver assistance and faster over-the-air software updates.

Battery details are still unconfirmed, but the EV1 is expected to use Kia’s next-generation electric platform and could offer up to 300 miles of range in higher-spec versions.

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