Kia is fitting its PV5 Chassis Cab with an optional 71.2 kWh battery, nearly 40 percent larger than the 51.5 kWh pack the conversion-friendly van launched with late last year.

The long-range version of the PV5 keeps the 120 kW motor and adds 10-80 percent DC fast charging in about 30 minutes, with a full 11 kW AC charge taking six and a half hours. The Chassis Cab variant determines whether Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle strategy extends beyond panel vans into tippers, fridges and municipal fleets.

Coachbuilders determine range

Of course, fixing a range figure isn’t an easy task in this case. Kia quotes up to 416 km WLTP for the 71.2 kWh battery, but that figure belongs to the L2H1 Cargo, the closed panel van. In a chassis cab, the finished form is whatever a coachbuilder bolts onto the exposed rear frame, which will decisively influence range.

Also, on a panel van, a bigger battery buys useful range. On a chassis cab, payload is the product: every kilo of battery is a kilo the customer cannot invoice. The 51.5 kWh launch version carries up to 1,005 kg. The 71.2 kWh pack will eat into that, and Kia has not yet published how much.

The PV5 has claimed 13,116 registrations in the first half of 2026, which is roughly 37 percent of all electric C-segment van sales in Europe, making it the bestseller in its segment. But panel vans are the easy end of electrification.

Competition from Ford and Renault

In the compact chassis cab segment, Kia currently has almost the category to itself. But not for long. The sharpest threat comes from Ford. Its Transit City EV chassis cab, shown at IAA 2026, is the company’s first 1-tonne electric chassis: a 56 kWh LFP battery, 150 hp and up to 1,275 kg payload (more than the PV5 manages even with the smaller pack)

Renault follows later this year with the Goelette E-Tech, officially offered as chassis cab, box and tipper on the new 800-volt Flexis skateboard platform. Notably, the Mercedes eVito, Ford E-Transit Custom and VW ID. Buzz Cargo offer no chassis cab at all.

The larger stakes sit just beyond: the PV7 arriving in 2027 and a PV9 following in 2029 are meant to complete an all-electric ladder from compact van to light truck. Chassis-cab variants of these versions are very likely, as the PV range is built around flexibility.

Pricing and delivery timing for the 71.2 kWh chassis cab will be published closer to launch.