Kia's Affordable EV3 Is Finally Coming to the US

Kia has officially confirmed a late-2026 US on-sale date for the EV3, its compact electric crossover that's already been on sale in other global markets for two years. Buyers get a choice of two battery packs: a 58.3 kWh front-wheel-drive base option good for 201 hp and an estimated 220 miles of range, or an 81.4 kWh pack that stretches to an estimated 320 miles in front-wheel-drive form, with an all-wheel-drive variant making 261 hp and a range-topping GT trim at 288 hp. DC fast charging takes the battery from 10-80% in roughly 29 to 31 minutes depending on trim.

Five trims are confirmed for launch — Light, Wind, Land, GT-Line, and GT — but Kia hasn't released official US pricing yet. The company has floated an internal target near $35,000, which should be treated as a stated goal rather than a locked MSRP until Kia actually publishes numbers closer to launch.

The timing matters as much as the car itself: the EV3 is aimed directly at a gap in the US market between cheap, short-range EVs and the $50,000-plus crossovers that dominate most manufacturers' electric lineups. Kia left that space largely uncontested stateside while rivals like the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Tesla Model Y competed on price at the lower end — the EV3's US arrival is Kia finally showing up to that fight two years after the rest of the world got the car.