Kia PV5 First Look: The International Van Of The Year 2026, From CHF 38,950

Kia’s first fully electric van won International Van of the Year 2026, and the grey PV5 Passenger on Cristal Garage’s stand in Martigny wore the sticker to prove it. Kia Switzerland lists the passenger versions from CHF 38,950.

The Sticker Checks Out

The round “International 2026 Kia PV5” sticker on the windscreen is accurate. Kia says the PV5 won the award on 19 November 2025 at Solutrans in Lyon, with 26 commercial-vehicle journalists voting unanimously. It is Kia’s first win in the category.

Four months later, we filmed the PV5 at Passion Auto Show Martigny 2026, which ran from 27 to 29 March. Our report on the award stickers at Martigny checks the other prize cars on that floor.

Our photograph from 27 March shows a grey PV5 with a black bonnet. The Swiss energy label beside it reads 120 kW (163 PS), 2,215 kg, 19.3 kWh per 100 km and category C.

Two Batteries, One Short

Kia Switzerland’s price list gives the 51.5 kWh battery 89 kW (122 PS) and 295 km of WLTP range. The 71.2 kWh battery brings 120 kW (163 PS) and 412 km.

So the 51.5 kWh van that opens the price list gives up 117 km to the larger battery.

A Van Built To Be Reshaped

The AUTO TV walkaround presents the PV5 as the first vehicle of a Kia business it calls “platform beyond vehicle”. Kia’s UK release calls it the first model from its PBV division.

The video describes one electric platform built to become a passenger van, a cargo van, a wheelchair-accessible vehicle or a camper. It says the Passenger has to show that an electric van can be a car you want.

On the show floor, it says, the PV5 is tall and boxy with short overhangs, with a “likable, almost toy-like quality”. Inside it lists a bright cabin, a high seating position, a flat floor and a screen-led dashboard it calls “more functional than plush”.

Kia Switzerland’s list gives 1.32 cubic metres of load space with the rear bench up and 2.3 cubic metres with it folded. kia.ch quotes a headline maximum of 3,615 litres. Vehicle-to-load, which the video mentions, is a CHF 900 option on Plus and Elite, rated up to 3.6 kW.

Where The Money Goes

Kia Switzerland’s price list for the PV5 Passenger, dated 10.2026 and opened on 15 October 2026, gives recommended prices including 8.1 per cent VAT in three trims. Five seats run from CHF 38,950 (51.5 kWh Essential) to CHF 50,450 (71.2 kWh Elite).

With six or seven seats the range tops out at CHF 51,250 (71.2 kWh Elite, seven seats). The wheelchair-accessible version runs from CHF 47,950 to CHF 55,450.

The sheet beside the car in Martigny reads “Kia PV5 Passenger 71.2 kWh Elite”, “Modèle exposé” and CHF 52’160. That equals the five-seat Elite at CHF 50,450 plus CHF 810 for metallic paint and CHF 900 for vehicle-to-load.

The match is our arithmetic and not a printed figure, and the list behind it is dated about six months after the show.

Still Provisional

The list carries a footnote reading “Provisorische Daten, Homologation noch nicht abgeschlossen”, provisional data with homologation not yet finished. So the range and the technical data on it are Kia’s provisional figures.

More Videos From The Shows

We filmed it at Passion Auto Show Martigny 2026.

We filmed it at Passion Auto Show Martigny 2026.

We filmed it at MotionExpo Graz 2026.

More of our videos of this car on AUTO TV:

• KIA PV5 Passenger 2026 – FULL WALKAROUND, INTERIOR & TRUNK SPACE (Earth Plus) (Tiroler Autosalon 2026)
• 2026 Kia PV5 Elite Review: The Modular EV Van (Automobilmesse Erfurt 2026)
• Kia PV5 – The Electric Platform Redefining Mobility's Future! (Automobilmesse Erfurt 2026)

Our Take

The AUTO TV walkaround calls the PV5 one of the more interesting new vehicles in a long time, a flexible electric platform that can be whatever its owner needs. It says the Passenger shows that a van can be comfortable, likable and family-friendly. Against the ID. Buzz, it argues, the PV5 sells on flexibility and value, where the Volkswagen sells on nostalgia.

Kia’s Swiss list fits that one-platform argument. It runs from a CHF 38,950 five-seater to a wheelchair-accessible version at CHF 55,450, all on the same van.

Independent editorial. No brand or organiser paid for or reviewed this article.