Copyright Men's Journal
The Tesla Model 3 is, in many ways, the electric car to beat. Everyone has their alternative to a Tesla product by now, from Ford’s Mustang Mach-E to Kia’s EV4. Well, that used to be Kia’s alternative to a Tesla. Now, it seems that won’t be the case. The EV4, Kia’s affordable electric car, is now delayed, probably indefinitely. What Happened To The Kia EV4? Speaking to InsideEVs, a Kia spokesperson confirmed the delay: “Kia’s full range of vehicles offers meaningful value and inspiring performance to customers,” he said. “However, as market conditions for EVs have changed, the release of the upcoming EV4 electric sedan will be delayed until further notice.” Kia, of course, declined to say exactly why it opted to kill the sedan. It was, frankly, an enticing package. The EV4 was to be an alternative to Kia’s already cheap K4 gasoline-powered sedan and hatchback. The EV would have offered a Tesla-style North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug and a battery large enough to net up to 330 miles of range. Moreover, it was to be cheap – cheaper than some Model 3s – with pricing somewhere in the $30,000 range. Kia would have been able to provide quick charging, too, thanks to the car’s faster 800-volt electric architecture. Most EVs run on a 400V architecture. The Kia EV4 Had An Uphill Battle To Fight The EV4’s cancellation isn’t terribly surprising. The margin for automakers on affordable cars is already razor-thin. Any disruption to that margin could be cause for catastrophe. There has, to put it lightly, been some disruption in today’s auto market. For one, tariffs could have priced out the EV4. Rising production and import costs may have driven the prices up to the point Kia simply decided the car isn’t worth making. There’s also the general appetite surrounding EVs at the moment. President Trump’s suspension of EV tax incentives, which have stood since the start of the 2010s, pushed prices higher for buyers. Consumer appetites for electric cars are fickle, too – high at one moment, as we saw during the months before EV incentives were suspended, and low at another – as sales of hybrids and gasoline cars continue to outpace the growth of the electrified segment. Kia, of course, is in the business of making a profit. It killed the EV4 because it couldn’t make a profit for any of these reasons, or a combination thereof, or for totally unrelated and unknown ones.
