Kia has enjoyed a promising start to its presence on the UK light van market, claiming the third highest electric vehicle sales after four months of 2026 with its initial van, the PV5.
The PV5 was launched at the 2025 edition of the CV Show and went on sale in December, with 77 registrations by the end of the year. In quarter one of 2026, Kia has registered 1235 vehicles to take close to 19% of the electric LCV market.
Revealing the figures, Kia UK President and CEO Paul Philpott said that they had been achieved in an electric van market that remains highly challenging. “The ZEV mandate target in 2025 for the light-commercial vehicle market was 16% but full-year sales were 8.4%. This year the target has gone up to 24% but quarter one registrations were 8.2% – the market is not growing which makes us even prouder of our success.”
With an all-electric LCV range Kia is guaranteed to meet the mandate target and Philpott added that the credits generated by the 76% of sales above the requirement are proving highly helpful in meeting the brand’s target in the car market. Government expects 33% of car sales in 2026 to be ZEVs – Kia’s figure is currently running at around 29%.
Philpott admitted he would not like to see the end of the ZEV mandate. “We fundamentally believe in the automotive future being electric,” he said. “What’s got to change is that van drivers, van purchasers have got to have the confidence that going electric will meet their business needs.
“That means providing fast charging, suitable charging infrastructure and affordable vehicles – we can do part of that, but it also needs investment in continued infrastructure improvements and consistent communication messages from the Government.”
Kia’s 2026 business plan, predicting 4250 vehicle sales in its first full year split 80/20% between the Cargo and Passenger versions of the PV5, is now being significantly revised upwards. Sold orders since launch are already running at over 3750 units.
Currently the PV5 Cargo is having most traction with SME users, followed by retail sales which Kia believes are mostly to sole traders. Public sector and corporate sales are expected to grow as the vehicle becomes more established and with a wider line-up – two additional sizes for the PV5 and a range of newly-appointed conversion partners were announced at the CV Show.
Kia has also made rapid progress with the establishment of its PBV (‘Professional Business Van’) retail network, with 65 sites now in operation across the UK. All have been established with existing Kia car retailers, though not all are on existing sites with some retailers opening dedicated outlets for their van operations.
