KIA EV5 Australia: sales target, pricing, launch offer, what if Model Y price falls?

Zecar's Neerav Bhatt was invited to the 2 day Kia EV5 Australian media launch and test drive event a few days ago and has got all the answers if you're interested in:

• how many EV5's Kia Australia hopes to sell,
• will there be a launch offer?
• which factors influence the price including NVES and Model Y price drops
• will Kia drop the EV5 price further if Elon cuts the Model Y price again?

For readers who are unfamiliar with what NVES stands for, it's the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard for Australia, which incentivises car manufacturers to supply new cars that emit less pollution per kilometre or even better electric cars that have no tailpipe emissions.

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Image by - Neerav Bhatt

What are the Launch Prices for Kia EV5 in Australia?

• Air Standard Range: $56,770 Driveaway incl onroads
• Air Long Range: $61,170 + onroads
• Earth AWD: $64,770 + onroads
• GT-Line AWD: $71,770 + onroads

Driveaway price for Western Australia will include an additional $1,000 for Air & Earth variants & $2,000 for GT-Line

Is Kia Australia still targeting 10,000 EV5 sales/year?

Damien Meredith - Kia Australia CEO said earlier in 2024 that he was expecting ten thousand EV5 sales/year.

When asked if still expected this at the EV5 media launch he commented:

"I don't think so. We'd be looking at 400 per month, that's coming back significantly. I think you have to be realistic about the market, that's where we are".

"It's challenging there's no question about that. Look at all the variables out there with NVES and competition in regards to our global plan S ... 30 / 30 / 30 is the anticipated model split [Between EV5 Air, Earth and GT-Line]."

Are there any Kia EV5 launch offers eg a free home charger or public charging voucher?

Damien Meredith - Kia Australia CEO said:

"We like to be very consistent with our pricing and our offering. We've done that for a long time and it's helped build the brand and helped dramatically with customer trust".

"We will probably be consistent with our pricing. If we offer anything we will offer it at the beginning of it's life cycle not in between."

What factors determined pricing, especially for the entry level?

Roland Rivero - Kia Australia General Manager of Product Planning said:

"We had to draw a line in the sand. HQ was aware of the moves that Tesla was continuously making. At the end of the day, that wasn't really the main point".

"It wasn't a case of can we achieve a price below the Model Y? More so to get it as competitive as possible to achieve our sales aspirations and sales plan. It's hard to target a moving target".

"We're mindful of all competition. EV5 is an extremely important product for us".

"NVES is coming our way soon, so we strategically aimed for a competitive price point".

"At the end of the day we have to make sure it hits the kind of numbers to gather enough credits so we can continue to sell other internal combustion type products."

Damien Meredith - Kia Australia CEO said :

"We wanted to be very competitive at entry point but we also have to be very mindful of dealer profitability. It's always a balance. We go to the dealers and talk about that, they agree to it."

If Tesla reduce the price of the Model Y in the next few months will Kia respond?

Damien Meredith - Kia Australia CEO said:

"We won't respond because it's really important to protect the residual value".

"We really believe that if a customer buys at a certain price, they need the protection of price stability and consistency. We've been doing that for a long time."

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