Kia is a car company from South Korea that makes different types of vehicles. They are known for being affordable and reliable.
Car
Kia PV5
The Kia PV5 is a new type of van that can carry passengers and is designed for comfort and convenience. It's part of Kia's effort to make more family-friendly vehicles.
The Jeep Compass is a smaller SUV that can handle rough roads and is good for everyday driving. It's popular because it offers a mix of space for passengers and cargo while still being easy to drive around town. The mention of its production suggests changes in how cars are being made and what people want to buy.
A zero emission vehicle is a type of car that doesn't produce any harmful gases while driving. This includes electric cars that run on batteries and cars that use hydrogen.
A plug-in hybrid vehicle is a car that can run on both electricity and gasoline. You can charge it by plugging it in, which helps save fuel and reduce pollution.
A battery electric vehicle is a car that runs only on electricity from batteries, not gasoline. They are better for the environment because they don't produce pollution while driving.
Car
Kia PB5
The Kia PB5 is a new type of vehicle designed specifically for electric use. It shows Kia's plans to create more electric cars and enter new business areas.
PBV means Purpose-Built Vehicle, which are cars made for specific jobs instead of just regular driving. This is important for companies that want to create vehicles for businesses.
LCV means Light Commercial Vehicle, which are vehicles used mainly for business purposes, like delivering goods. Companies like Kia are focusing on this market.
EV means Electric Vehicle, which is a car that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. These vehicles are becoming more popular as people look for cleaner options.
The wave market is about vehicles that are made for people who use wheelchairs. These vehicles have special features to help those who have trouble moving around.
A side entry model is a type of vehicle that lets people get in and out from the side instead of the back. This makes it easier for those who might have trouble moving around.
Cold weather performance is about how well a car works when it's really cold outside. It's important for cars that are used in places with harsh winters.
LIVE
Hi everyone and welcome to the October 17th, 2025 episode of the Automotive News Canada podcast. I'm your host, Greg Lassen, the digital and mobile editor at Automotive News Canada. Coming to you from just outside Windsor, Ontario, the Automotive Capital of Canada. Today on the show, we hear from head of the PDV business division at Kia, Sangde Kim. He recently spoke with Automotive News Canada publisher Tim Demopoulos,
prior to a Kia dinner reception in Seoul. The two discussed Kia's new PV5 midsize passenger van, its platform beyond vehicle concept, its uses beyond just being a passenger vehicle, affordability, and more. But first, a look at some of the top Canadian Automotive stories of the week.
Plans have drastically changed at the Stellantis Assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario. It will not build the next generation of the Jeep Compass. The automaker will move the plant output to a factory in Illinois. The move is part of a $13 billion plan to add 5,000 US jobs and increase US manufacturing output by 50%.
But it means 3,000 Canadian employees won't be headed back to work anytime soon. The Brampton plant has been idle since December 2023. Stellantis says it still has plans for the plant, meanwhile the federal government is considering suing the automaker over the move.
It has so far given Stellantis $105 million of the $529 million it pledged to help Stellantis retool factories in Brampton and Windsor.
In EV news, despite a small spark in zero emission vehicle sales, when compared with a year ago, they remain depressed in August.
The latest statistics Canada data shows ZEV is accounted for 8.8% of new vehicle sales in August, but that's 1.1% higher than July.
It was also the first month since January that the category's penetration rate has climbed above 8%. However, when compared with the same month a year ago, sales were down 37%.
August battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales totaled 14,657.
On the mobility front, Lyft plans to open a new technology hub in downtown Toronto. The ride hailing company says the office will be in the city's financial district.
Lyft says it plans to hire several hundred employees in engineering, product development, operations and marketing. About 60 positions are currently available on Lyft's career's page.
The company says the office will open in the second half of 2026.
And that's a look at some of the top Canadian automotive stories of the week. We now hear from the head of the PBV business division at Kia saying, Day Kim.
Thank you for making the time Mr. Kim. The PB5 is Kia's first dedicated platform beyond vehicle. How does this model support Kia's long-term PBV business strategy and global growth objectives?
Actually, you understand the PBV business is really important to peel up for our Kia's global growth in the future.
This is a really new area for Kia. We are entering new business area which is LCV business like commercial vehicle.
Our company is really serious about this business for the next stage. And then, as you understand, we are going to integrate all the advanced technologies into our PBV business, such as connectivity and market and data business issues.
It's going to be kind of innovation, peel up for Kia brand in the future.
And then, this is 100% dedicated to the EV model. The first model is the PB5 next to the PB7 and the PB9. So, 100% dedicated to the EV. So, this is a really important volume for Kia's electrification leadership in the future.
The PB5 will offer passenger cargo and chassis cab layouts plus modular accessories. So, how does customer feedback shape the decision of what configurations to offer and what trade-offs were involved between flexibility versus cost and complexity?
Yeah, that's also a really important issue for Kia to consider in the beginning of our business starting point.
So, as you understand, this is a B2B and commercial business, not B2C and patching car business. So, we were supposed to listen to our target customers' voice and their payment points in developing our product.
So, as much as possible, we accommodated, accepted all the requests from our target customers. And then, we have made a lot of problems in order to listen to their voices. For example, PBV partners today.
So, we invited a bunch of media and a bunch of experts in the segment in the domain to our identity center. And we provided a lot of auditing process, test driving process. So, we got a lot of ideas.
My point is our product is really optimized for B2B and commercial business. And then, cost issue, there is also a really important issue.
So, our audition center has created a lot of creative and innovative ideas in developing and producing 10 models.
For example, the flexible body system. So, we can assemble every different variants by utilizing our flexible body system. That is our main approach in order to manage a low cost production system.
And then, if you want our factory in person, so the factory has a really advanced system to cover a lot of different variants at the same factory.
So, that is our manufacturing technology. So, by utilizing all the technologies and solutions, we made this kind of really competitive and different models for B2B and commercial business.
Can you share some examples or pilot projects so far that show how customers will adapt the PBV vibe in a non-traditional way, so non-traditional use cases for the vehicle?
Let me give you some examples targeting wave market. Wave means wheelchair accessible vehicle. There are a lot of aging population in global market. And there are a lot of people who are temporarily disabled people.
They are really important target customers for our PBV vibe. So, if you look at current market situation, there are many wave models with real entry system.
So, many target customers don't like to have that kind of system, real entry system. Like they thought they looked like low disease, loading and unloading.
So, we found some opportunity for Kia. So, we tried to develop a side entry model, like a normal getting and get out process.
And another point is because of the conversion process, they had to pay a lot of money to buy the product. So, in order to address that issue, we developed a MIP side entry model, which is quite competitive compared to other real entry model and the converted model by convertors in the after market.
So, that is a really good example. Another domain will be explored by Kia.
Kia. Your market here in Korea and other markets that you plan to deploy the PBV in are sometimes operate cold weather and cold temperatures.
The performance in cold temperatures is crucial for fleet and commercial customers just in terms of range and predictability in terms of how the vehicle is going to perform.
So, what have you done to ensure cold weather performance for your fleet customers?
Yes, that is also a really important consideration when we develop the models.
If you look at our market research data, most of our target customers a year, average range every day, maybe around maybe 100 kilometers or 150 kilometers.
I don't think they have a lot of issues in the mileage issues. We are going to cover all their usage in their daily business.
So, I don't think there is a big issue. Considering our target customers' utilization process, we can cover their business usage in the actual situation.
Whether it's going to be a cold or warm, in other cases, for example, this is a civilian, there is an MVN and HVN.
In that case, maybe we are supposed to provide the longer mileage. So, we are developing them model according to our target customers we cast.
For fleet and commercial clients, the total cost of ownership is also critical.
How is key working with businesses to demonstrate PV5's long-term value, factoring in things like maintenance, flexibility and being able to demonstrate asset management?
How is that all fit with the larger fleet commercial customers?
In terms of total cost of ownership, EV is really a superior to IC. Think about the fuel cost, maintenance cost.
This is really competitive compared to IC models. We conducted market research targeting the hailing market.
According to our internal data and internal analysis, our PV5 will be one-third or one-fifth of IC total cost of ownership.
That means it's going to be quite competitive in the market.
We are going to provide a really advanced technology to maintain our vehicle really healthy.
For example, fleet management system. By utilizing fleet management system, we can check our vehicle's health, especially battery health and battery condition.
That kind of activity will increase our vehicle's risk-reveling value, ultimately.
By utilizing all the technologies, we are going to collaborate with our partners in order to maintain our risk-reveling competitive.
This will be the last question. The K-Aims to sell the 250,000 KBDs globally by 2030. It's a very lofty goal.
But what strategic partnerships or market initiatives will be critical to achieving this target?
We are targeting B2B and the commercial market. There are so many different domains in the B2B area.
We are going to enter each domain, command by domain, with really competitive technologies and competitive programs.
For example, the healing market, we already developed the AOD system. AOD means all in one display.
If you take a text, maybe you can find a lot of displays, smartphones, the IVI display and a lot of devices in front of drivers.
There is a really dangerous situation. We included all the devices displayed into one device.
That is all in one display. By providing all in one device, you can increase safety of drivers and passengers.
That's really convenient for our drivers.
So my point is that we are going to develop a really specific technology, specific programs.
We are going to explore our domains, domain by domain, providing tools and technologies.
Exciting time for Keen and exciting time for your commercial business.
Yes.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'd like to thank Sangde Kim for his time and Tim for conducting the interview.
If you'd like to be a guest, have a suggestion or simply want to comment, email me at g-lacenatautonews.com.
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Just scroll to the podcast hub in the middle of our homepage.
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That does it for this episode of the automotive news Canada podcast.
We hope you'll join us next time.
So long, everybody.
About this episode
Sangdae Kim, head of Kia's PBV business division, discusses the innovative PV5 midsize passenger van, emphasizing its role in Kia's electrification strategy and B2B focus. The conversation covers customer feedback in product development, unique use cases like wheelchair accessibility, and the vehicle's performance in cold climates. Kim highlights the competitive total cost of ownership for EVs compared to internal combustion engines and outlines Kia's ambitious goal of selling 250,000 PBVs globally by 2030. The episode also touches on significant Canadian automotive news, including Stellantis' plant changes and Lyft's expansion plans.
Stellantis changes Brampton plans; ZEV sales show life; Lyft expands. Plus, Head of the PBV Business Division at Kia Sangdae Kim talks about Kia’s new PV5 midsize passenger van, its Platform Beyond Vehicle concept, and the van's uses beyond just being a passenger vehicle.
