Kia Won’t Say Why the EV5 Will Come to Canada But Not the US

Although the EV5 is built in China, the reason why it's slated to miss the States isn't as clear as you might think. The post Kia Won’t Say Why the EV5 Will Come to Canada But Not the US appeared first on The Drive.

Feb 1, 2025 - 01:10

Kia Won’t Say Why the EV5 Will Come to Canada But Not the US

When it drops in the Great White North early next year, the Kia EV5 will join a small but special group of cars that were sold in Canada but not the U.S.—a group that consists of the Nissan Micra, the Mercedes B-Class, the previous-gen C-Class wagon, and Acura CSX. You might think this has something to do with tariffs, especially when you learn that the EV5 is built in China, but actually, that doesn’t appear to be it. In fact, we can’t put a pin on why the EV5 is missing the States at all.

Last year, the Biden administration imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, but—fun fact—so did Canada. “Actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace, compromising the security of our critical industries and displacing dedicated Canadian auto and metal workers. So, we’re taking action to address that,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last fall.

The Kia EV5 is not exactly a new car. Since 2023, it’s been sold in overseas markets like Australia, Thailand, North Africa, and Latin America. It’s built in China through a joint venture with Jiangsu Yueda, and in Singapore by Hyundai independently.

So, if both the U.S. and Canada heavily tax EVs imported from China, what gives? Driving.ca cites America’s Inflation Reduction Act, which offers a $7,500 rebate if the car meets parts sourcing requirements. Earlier this month, however, Canada abruptly put an indefinite pause on federal EV incentives altogether because, well, the program ran out of money.

We reached out to both Kia America and Kia Canada to get clarity on why the EV5 is coming to Canada but not the U.S., as well as whether Canada-bound EV5s would be built in China or Singapore—which are, believe it or not, two different countries!

“At this time, there are no plans to bring the EV5 to the US. Kia America offers a full line of vehicles that continue to offer what our customers are looking for as evidenced by an outstanding year of sales in 2024, with nearly 800,000 vehicles sold,” was all we got out of a Kia America spokesperson.

As far as we can concretely tell, the reason behind the EV5’s Canadian exclusivity is unclear. If we had to guess, it might have something to do with a difference in how the two countries qualify (or used to qualify) incentives. Perhaps the EV5 fails to meet U.S. parts-sourcing requirements, something Canada’s iZEV program did not have.

In any case, CAD EV5 pricing is still TBD, but at its Canadian debut on Thursday night, Kia Canada director of strategic planning David Sherrard specifically pegged the car as an “affordable” way for people to transition into EV ownership. When (or if?) the EV5 does show up in Canada next year, it’ll be available with either a 60.3-kWh standard-range battery or an 81.4-kWh long-range one, front- or all-wheel drive, Tesla’s NACS charge port, and rear seats that can fold completely flat.