Kia attacks EV pricing! Great news for EV3 and EV4, but Niro EV future in doubt

October 31, 2024October 31, 2024 Bruce Newton 16838 Views 0 Comments kia ev pricing, kia ev3, Kia Ev4, kia niro

Razor-edged pricing for Kia’s electric EV5 medium SUV will continue with the incoming EV3 and EV4, but the policy could also end the Kia Niro electric vehicle’s time in Australia.

Kia has launched the EV5 medium SUV at $56,770 drive-away for the entry-level Air Standard Range, undercutting the Tesla Model Y by at least $2000 depending on where you buy it.

Kia arrived at the price, which is permanent, only after both it and its dealers agreed to cut profit margins to the bone.

Now Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith has revealed to EV Central the incoming 2025 EV3 small SUV and the EV4 sedan – which is expected but not confirmed for 2026 – will likewise be as sharply priced.

That’s despite a general downturn in EV sales in the second half of 2024 and Kia’s decision to its slash sales forecast for the EV5 by more than 50 per cent.

2025 Kia EV3 GT-Line is likely arriving next year with a sub-$50k price tag to meet the market

“It’s a brave new world in regard to the EV market and you have to be realistic about your volume expectations and part of that is getting the right price,” he said.

“We’ll ensure the pricing for the other [EVs] below EV5 are concurrent and structured correctly with our pricing plateaus.”

That suggests a starting price below $50,000 drive-away for the EV3, which is a BYD Atto 3 rival.

The EV4 will compete with the Tesla Model 3 rival; the American best-seller costing $54,900 plus ORCs right now. So that suggest a low $50K drive-away price for the Kia.

And that leaves the compact Niro EV, with pricing starting at $66,590 plus on-road costs, standing out like a sore thumb.

2023 Kia Niro GT-Line — Kia Niro EV – is time running out for the pricey small SUV?

“It will sit there for as long as we have it in marketplace,” Meredith dead-batted. “That car has done an incredible job for its pricing.”

Meredith explained simply cutting the Niro EV price to potentially kickstart sales wasn’t an optimal choice because it would hurt used values.

“As funny as this sounds, we like to stick to our pricing so the residual is consistent and the customer knows that,” he said.

“Was Niro too expensive when it came to market? It was early to market so it didn’t really have any competitors.”

The Kia EV5 was expected to sell 10,000 examples per annum but Kia has reduced its forecast to 4800.

At the same time Kia is upgrading its focus on petrol-electric hybrids and is planning to populate as much of its range with them as soon as possible.

“As soon as possible, as soon as it is available, we’ll put our hand up for hybrid variants,” said Meredith.

Kia Concept EV4 forecasts the electric sedan to tackle the Tesla Model 3, and likely here in 2026

That’s a key reason the cheaper Niro hybrid, which launched in second generation form alongside the EV in 2022, does not appear under threat.

Toyota has led the charge on hybrid sales and Meredith said that success had helped trigger the EV sales slowdown in the second half of 2024 in Australia.

“Toyota has done a fantastic job in growing that hybrid sector,” he said. “People don’t want to jump from ICE (internal combustion engine) to EV.”

“I think [private buyers] are quite happy to go ICE, hybrid and then look at EV and that’s the issue..

“There are other aspects to that obviously; there is infrastructure, there is range anxiety, etcetera. But I think the main component is people don’t want to go A to C, they want to go A, B, C.”