KIA

2026 Kia PV5 Chassis Cab 

There is no ticking a cheaper box, and that's a bit curious when you remember that some regions offer a standard-range pack with 51.1 kWh as opposed to 71.2 kWh only in the United Kingdom. A chassis cab is useful after the converter bolts a body to it, and range dies with every kilogram sacked on the exposed rear frame.

While it may be pricey, the larger battery does make plenty of sense from this point of view. Kia argues the very same case, highlighting that fleet operators with longer or less practical daily routes prefer the larger pack. Also worth noting, some operators may also be hampered by the lack of a charger at every depot.

On paper, the charging numbers are best described as workable rather than impressive. DC fast charging runs at up to 120 kilowatts, taking the battery's state of charge from 10 to 80 percent in around half an hour. Using an 11-kW wallbox, the stint from 10 to 100 percent on AC is estimated at six and a half hours.

The British version of the PV5 Chassis will come with the Long Range 71.2kWh battery installed (there’s a smaller 51.1kWh Standard Range version available in Europe that Kia UK’s not bothering with). 

Kia’s estimating 258 miles of range from the Long Range (416km) based on the performance of its van version, but obviously mileage will vary depending on what you stick on the back of the PV5 Chassis. 

It’ll DC rapid charge at up to 120kW for a 10–80% charge time of 30 minutes and comes with 11kW AC charging. 

The PV5 electric chassis cab version is yours to do with it as you please, but Kia does say that its official conversion partner TGS Automotive Group does a nice line in lightweight tipper, box and dropside trucks with a variety of accessories available. 

Kia says that it has sold over 13,000 PV5 across Europe in the first half of 2026, with the van taking over a third of electric van sales in the region. 

The company hasn’t said exactly when the new option is going on sale and how much it will cost, but has said that it plans to roll the PV5 Chassis out across Europe by the end of 2026. 

Final range and payload depend on the finished conversion, load, route, and conditions. Kia says so itself, and it's right to. For a rough yardstick, the 71.2-kWh version of the PV5 Cargo in L2H1 flavor is good for 258 miles (415 kilometers) on a full charge in the WLTP. The chassis-cab model with a body on the back, therefore, will probably land somewhere under the aforementioned figure.

Erhan Eren, the PBV director at Kia Europe, keeps the pitch short. Commercial vehicle customers need solutions that reflect how they operate, with the long-range battery giving businesses greater scope to balance conversion requirements, charging access, and distance. The PV5 Chassis is the most bare-bones member of the family, which includes Cargo and Passenger models.

The conversion-focused variant is Kia's first dedicated chassis-cab electric platform, built on the E-GMP.S architecture. Said platform was engineered from the start for application-specific bodies, and the dimensions certainly help. The PV5 Cargo stays under five meters long, and Kia claims a best-in-class turning circle that rivals that of compact hatchbacks.

City streets, building sites, and depots are where that 5.5-meter (18 feet) turning circle matters and where most of these vehicles will spend their working lives. Britain gets a named partner for the bodywork. TGS Automotive Group is the official PBV conversion partner in the United Kingdom, promising box, tipper, and dropside solutions for the PV5 Chassis.

Modular extras include mesh cage, beacons, chapter 8 traffic management livery, and fall arrest systems. Kia further claims the converted vehicles offer best-in-class payload, with those conversions scheduled to arrive in the fourth quarter. The platform rollout sits on solid ground, with PV5 recording 13,116 registrations across Europe in the first half of the year.

This means the PV5 took 37 percent of electric C-segment van sales, per ACEA's data for the EU, EFTA, and UK, enough to make it the segment's top seller. At launch, Kia backs the PV5 Chassis for the United Kingdom with a seven-year/100,000-mile vehicle warranty and eight years of battery coverage.

Flexibility invites applications...As part of the PV5 Chassis launch in the UK, Kia has confirmed that the TGS Automotive Group will offer a variety of conversions, like a lightweight tipper, a dropside and a box van.

After all, with the Chassis Cab not being locked into any one body style, the aftermarket is free to dream up all kinds of mobile accommodations. Even a larger box (think something like Geotrek’s Verus) would expand on stock capabilities.

Thankfully, it has the means to do so because it offers more than enough hauling capacity. The PV5 Chassis cab boasts a payload of up to 1,005 kilograms (2,216 pounds), putting it on par with much larger trucks.

Long Range Thrills...One and a half year after the debut of the Kia PV5 lineup in production form, Kia has launched the PV5 Chassis in the UK, exclusively available in the Long-Range configurator. This is fitted a a front-mounted electric motor generating 161 hp (120 kW / 163 PS) and a large 71.2 kWh battery pack, offering an estimated WLTP range of 259 miles (416 km) between charges.

Other markets get access to the Kia PV5 Chassis Mid-Range with the smaller 51.5 kWh battery and a less powerful electric motor producing 120 hp (89 kW / 122 PS). Both Long-Range and Mid-Range models have a maximum payload of 1,005 kg (2,216 pounds), closely matching most diesel-powered midsize pickups.

 

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