Kia commits to hatchbacks globally with EV4 and K4 

Against the general trend, Kia is committed to launching more hatchbacks and saloons, rather than going all-in on SUVs. Its EV4 and K4 are rivals for Volkswagen Golf and ID 3 in Europe.

Kia executive vice-president, Ted Lee, recently told Autocar UK that there was still “big volume” for hatchback models in Europe. He confirmed that the firm would continue to offer them and indeed launch all-new models. Lee co-ordinates Kia’s global business outside of Korea.

Read our review of Kia EV3 here.

The first of these newcomers is EV4, set to dot down in New Zealand soon. It will be built at Kia’s plant in Slovakia, and will also be offered as a saloon built in South Korea.

However, a Kia NZ spokesperson said that the marque has not made a decision as to whether either the EV4 Hatch or K4 will be launched locally.

The EV4 will be joined by the K4 in the UK, a hatchback that debuted at the New York motor show.

It replaces Ceed over there and will be built at Kia’s plant in Mexico in both hatch and saloon forms. An estate version is on the cards too for Europe.

Lee said that Kia currently has a “strong position in Europe, especially in the UK.”

Kia sales have grown more than 30 per cent since 2020 in the EU. In the UK, Kia has sold more than 100,000 cars for three years running. It is the third best-selling brand in 2025, less than 300 units behind second-placed BMW.

However, Lee said increased competition in Europe from Chinese brands makes for a “difficult market ”. Kia will further strengthen its aftersales, parts supply and customer journeys in response.

However, it will not become embroiled in a price war in Europe in the face of new lower-cost competition. Instead, it will maintain its focus on residual values, which it credits as partly responsible for the “sustainable growth” the brand has enjoyed.

Lee said Kia has done this by maintaining demand. Cars are not pushed to dealers and onto customers at discounted rates but are built and sold according to demand.

Describing this as a “healthy cycle”, Lee said: “ It might sound very easy, but in reality it requires a very strong determination and sense of principle.”