Kia EV5 Debuts in Thailand – Malaysia Next?

The Kia EV5 has made its official Thai debut at the 2024 Bangkok International Motor Show.

Months after being launched globally, the Kia EV5 has finally made its ASEAN debut in Thailand, in conjunction with the ongoing 2024 Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS). This compact EV SUV crossover arrival completes the trio of E-GMP-based EVs for the Thai market, with said neighbouring Kingdom already welcoming both the EV6 and EV9 SUV prior to this.

The Kia EV5 gets the same design touches and elements as the larger Kia EV9 SUV.

Positioned as the smallest model of the aforementioned Kia’s E-GMP trio, the EV5 is essentially a shrunken-down version of the EV9, which is touted as the flagship EV SUV for the Korean brand. As a result, the EV5 gets the same boxy SUV silhouette as the EV9, featuring the signature ‘Star Map’ lighting at the front with an enclosed front grille.

At the rear, the EV5 gets a pair of J-shaped LED taillights, plus a prominent rear bumper accent with silver and gloss black-hued trims. Also present in this car are typical EV SUV design traits like a lower shutter front grille, flushed door handles, and gloss black-hued underbody cladding.

In terms of dimensions, the EV5 measures 4,615 MM long, 1,875 MM wide, 1,715 MM tall, and with a wheelbase of 2,750 MM – making it smaller than the EV6.

The Kia EV5 cabin is pretty spacious for its size, featuring tons of tech equipment all laid out in a pretty minimalistic manner.

On board, the Thai-spec EV5 gets the same design and equipment list as the international market, all wrapped in a minimalist yet space-efficient manner. Key highlights present here include the dual 12.3-inch display with a separate 5-inch unit for the climate adjustments, a similar front dash design as the EV9, synthetic leather upholstery for the seats with light brown or blue colour options, a full panoramic sunroof, and many more.

The Kia EV5 comes in two powertrain flavours for the Thai market, spread out into four different variants.

On the powertrain front, the Thai-bound Kia EV5 comes in two powertrain flavours, with the entry-level option being a single-motor front-wheel drive (FWD) setup rated at 215 HP (160 kW) and 310 NM. Offered to the Light, Air, and Earth Long Range variants of the EV5, this FWD powertrain setup is enough to propel this EV SUV from nought to 100 KM/H in 8.5 seconds.

Meanwhile, the range-topping Earth Exclusive variant is the sole model to be offered with a peppier dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) setup. Rated at 308 HP (230 kW) and 480 NM, this dual-motor setup garners the top-spec EV5 a faster century sprint time of 6.1 seconds.

As for the battery and range, both the EV5 Light and Air variants are juiced by a 64.2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, granting them a maximum EV range of 490 KM (NEDC). Both the Earth variants are equipped with a larger 88.1-kWh unit, granting up to 665 KM of range for the Long Range model or 620 KM for the Exclusive AWD model.

Both the EV5 Light and Air support DCFC at up to 102 kW, while the larger unit used on the Earth variants tops out at 141 kW, both taking 36 minutes to get from 10-80%. AC charging, on the other hand, is capped at 7 kW for the smaller unit, while the larger one gets 11 kW of AC input instead.

Now available for booking, the Thai-spec Kia EV5 starts at THB 1.249 million (RM162,118) for the baseline Light variant, while the Earth Exclusive AWD model tops the range off at THB 1.749 million (RM227,018). It is also important to note that these are special promotional prices by Kia Thailand for its latest EV model, which last until the end of April this year.

With the Kia EV5 already making its ASEAN debut in Thailand, it is natural for us to ask whether Malaysia will be the next ASEAN destination for this compact EV SUV. As of now, local Kia brand custodian Bermaz Auto Bhd (BAuto) has yet to iterate any plans of bringing in the EV5 into our market, with both the Kia EV6 and Niro EV standing as the sole two EV models offered by the brand here in Malaysia.

So folks, what do you think of the Thai-spec Kia EV5 here? Keen to see Bermaz Auto bring this EV SUV into our market? As always, don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below…