Kia EV4 Is Built in Korea and Slovakia, While the Tasman Tows 3,500 kg

Kia has named a pickup after the stretch of water between Australia and New Zealand, and describes the result as its most Australian vehicle to date. Beside it sits the EV4, a compact electric car whose American launch Kia has put on hold, citing tariffs.

Kia EV4: the first electric Kia that is not an SUV

The Kia EV4 is a battery electric compact car in the C segment, produced since 2025. It is the fifth model in Kia's EV line-up and the third dedicated electric Kia with a 400-volt architecture, after the EV3. It is also the first dedicated Kia EV that is not an SUV, acting as the electric counterpart to the K4. It is built as a sedan and, for Europe, as a hatchback.

The 400-volt label describes the voltage of the car's high-voltage electrical system. Voltage works a little like water pressure in a pipe: a higher figure moves the same power with less current, which is why some electric cars use systems with a higher figure. The EV4 is one of three dedicated Kia electric cars to use the 400-volt version.

A concept was shown at Kia EV Day on 12 October 2023 and then at the LA Auto Show that November. The production car, which stays close to the concept, was revealed on 17 February 2025 and fully introduced on 27 February 2025 alongside the EV2 and PV5. Kia describes the EV4 as its first global non-SUV model.

Kia calls the Tasman the most Australian vehicle it has ever developed, and named it after a sea.

Kia EV4 design, screens and software

Vertical headlamps and Kia's star map lighting define the face, and the sedan carries a roof spoiler at the rear. Inside, a panoramic wide display combines a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 5-inch climate panel and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen. Touch-sensitive buttons sit below it, but the media power and volume, the temperature and the fan speed keep physical controls.

The EV4 is the first Kia with a rotating armrest shared across two rows, and the first to have over-the-air software updates linked to the Kia mobile app.

Kia EV4 GT, trims and batteries

The EV4 GT went on sale on 9 January 2026 as the high-performance version with all-wheel drive. Like the standard and GT-Line variants, it comes as both a sedan and a hatchback. In Korea the car is sold in Air, Earth and GT Line trims with Standard Range and Long Range powertrains, and Singapore, launched on 12 January 2026, has a single variant with a 58.3 kWh battery.

Where the Kia EV4 is built

Two factories share the work. The sedan is made at Autoland Gwangmyeong in South Korea, where production started in March 2025. The hatchback is made at Kia Motors Slovakia in Zilina, where output began on 19 August 2025, making it the first Kia battery electric vehicle assembled in Europe. That hatchback is sold exclusively in Europe.

Kia EV4 launch dates and availability

Europe gets the sedan and the hatchback, in standard and GT-Line forms. Korea started taking orders in March 2025 and sales followed in April. By May the EV4 was the best-selling battery electric car in its home market, with 1,373 units in the month.

North America saw the sedan at the New York International Auto Show on 16 April 2025. Kia first planned to sell it in the US and Canada in early 2026 as an electric alternative to the K4. Then, in October 2025, it put the US launch off indefinitely because of tariffs and the end of the federal tax credit. Canada was unaffected, with sales starting on the planned date.

Australia received the EV4 on 19 January 2026, as a sedan only, in three versions: Air Standard Range, Earth Long Range and GT-Line Long Range. A month later the hatchback was under consideration and no decision had been made. New Zealand announced pricing on 2 October 2025 for two sedans, the Light Long Range 2WD and the GT-Line 2WD; the Light is the equivalent of the Air elsewhere.

Kia Tasman: a mid-size pickup named after a sea

The Kia Tasman is a mid-size pickup truck built and sold by Kia since 2025. It has a body-on-frame chassis, which means a separate steel ladder frame carries the engine, axles and load while the body is bolted on top, much like a shelf unit fixed to a trolley. Power comes from turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. On 29 October 2024 Kia pulled the covers off it in two places at once: the Jeddah International Motor Show in Saudi Arabia, and Hobart in Tasmania. The name comes from the Tasman Sea, which Kia says reflects the importance of Australia and New Zealand to the vehicle.

The Tasman is built in South Korea, with Australia as one of its main markets. Kia Australia took a major part in its development and aims for around 10 percent of the country's pickup segment. The truck is on an all-new platform and is meant to compete with the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara. Like them it can tow 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) braked, meaning a trailer that has its own brakes, and its payload is around 1,000 kg (2,200 lb).

Kia confirmed the name in April 2024. On 23 April 2024, Kia Australia released images of the truck wrapped in camouflage designed by local artist Richard Boyd-Dunlop. Development took four years and more than 18,000 quality tests. Every Kia design studio in the world sent twenty initial design studies, which were cut to three full-size proposals shown to Kia's regions before the winner was chosen.

The bed can be fitted out in four ways: Single Decker, Double Decker, Sports Bar or Ladder Rack. Chassis cab and single cab models also exist, and a Tasman Weekender concept was unveiled on 8 April 2025.

Kia Tasman design, cabin and load bed

The exterior follows Kia's Opposites United philosophy with the Kia Tiger Face. Vertical lighting sits in the headlights, the windscreen and rear window are set at 45 degrees, and the Kia logo is stamped into the tailgate. Extra elements in the wheel arches include storage, the fuel port access and the headlights.

Inside, the theme is "use-case". A triple-screen layout has a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 5-inch panel for climate controls and a 12.3-inch touchscreen. As in every Kia, ten sustainable items appear in the crash pad, seats and carpet. Two wireless charging pads, a folding centre console and a Harman Kardon sound system are fitted, and the rear seat bases hide a 33-litre storage area. Rear passengers get 940mm of headroom, shoulder room and legroom, and the backrests recline up to 30 degrees.

The load bed measures 1,512 mm (59.5 in) long, 1,572 mm (61.9 in) wide and 540 mm (21 in) high. Cargo volume is 1,173 L (41.4 cu ft). In 2WD form the bed can carry a maximum of 1,145 kg (2,524 lb), and the truck can tow 3,500 kg (7,700 lb).

Kia Tasman suspension, four-wheel drive and driver aids

The front suspension is a double wishbone, and the rear is a rigid axle on leaf springs with vertical shock absorbers. Both ends have Kia's frequency selective Sensitive Damper Control and Hydraulic Rebound Stop technology. The all-wheel-drive system switches automatically to give traction on different surfaces and has Eco, Smart and Sport modes, plus terrain modes in some markets. An electronic locking differential, which forces both wheels on an axle to turn together when one is slipping, an X-Trek mode for low-speed off-roading and the Ground View Monitor camera system complete the off-road kit. Driver assistance includes Highway Driving Assist 2, with trailer profile functions.

Where the Kia Tasman is sold

The initial rollout covered South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and the Middle East. The Tasman is not yet on sale in the United States, Canada or Mexico, although Kia has announced that it will enter North America by 2030.

In Australia it went on sale on 17 April 2025, with deliveries from July. The dual-cab pickup launched in five grades (S, SX, SX+, X-Line and X-Pro), every one powered by a 2.2-litre CRDi turbodiesel, with four-wheel drive on all but the base S, which is rear-drive. Single-cab and dual-cab chassis models for the S and SX were added in August 2025. New Zealand got five variants on the same day: TX, TXR, TXS, X-Line and X-Pro, all with the diesel and four-wheel drive.

The Middle East saw sales begin in August 2025, where the UAE alone has five main variants: LX 2WD, LX 4WD, EX, X-Line and X-Pro+. Trims differ mainly in drivetrain, off-road ability, luxury features and accessories. All share a 2.5-litre turbo petrol engine or an optional 2.2-litre turbodiesel with an 8-speed automatic. South Africa received the LX (4x2), SX (4x4) and X-Pro (4x4) on 8 April 2026, all with the diesel. Argentina followed on 24 July 2026 with EX, EX TD and X Pro; the EX and X Pro use the 2.5-litre T-GDi petrol and the EX TD the diesel. Brazil began on 18 August 2026 with a single diesel GL. In Asia, Brunei launched on 28 August 2025 with LX, EX and X-Line and Cambodia on 5 September 2025 with X-Line and X-Pro, all diesel.

Kia EV4 and Tasman at a glance