After making its first appearance at the Singapore Motorshow earlier this year, the Kia EV5 has finally launched in the island nation, and will be sold through Cycle and Carriage. The biggest news? It will be assembled locally at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre (HMGICS), making it the first Kia ever to be assembled in the nation.
The Kia EV5 will be the fourth electric vehicle (EV) to be manufactured in the plant. It will join other Hyundai EVs such as the Ioniq 5, the Ioniq 6, and the Ioniq 5 robotaxi that will be exclusively exported to the US.
In Singapore, there will be three variants of the EV5: Air, Earth, and the sportier GT-Line – all of which are built on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform. The Air and Earth variants sports a single electric motor at the front producing 136 hp and 310 Nm while the GT-Line sports a dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) setup producing a combined 313 hp and 480 Nm.
When it comes to batteries, the Air variant is equipped with a 64.2 kWh pack, offering up to 400 km of WLTP range. The Earth and GT-Line variants both get a larger 88.1 kWh battery, with the Earth delivering up to 540 km of range. However, the GT-Line’s more power-hungry dual-motor setup brings its WLTP range down to 470 km.
The Air variant supports up to 6.6 kW AC and 102 kW DC charging, with a 10% to 80% charge taking just 35 minutes via DC fast charging. Meanwhile, the Earth and GT-Line variants offer faster 11 kW AC and 141 kW DC charging, achieving the same 10-80% charge in just 38 minutes—also using DC charging.
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Prices for the Kia EV5 start at SGD194,900 (approx. RM643k) with COE for the entry-level Air variant, making it more affordable than rivals like the Zeekr X, which starts from SGD202,999 (approx. RM669k), and the Tesla Model Y, from SGD205,977 (approx. RM679k), both with COE. However, the slightly smaller BYD Atto 3 undercuts them all with a starting price of just SGD173,388 (approx. RM572k) with COE.
With the Kia EV5 now available in both Singapore and Thailand, could we soon see the hit EV SUV on Malaysian roads? With its distinctive design, solid range, and performance, the EV5 has all the makings of a popular choice among EV SUV buyers—provided it arrives with a competitive price tag.
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