Kia debuts the PV5 WAV, a wheelchair-ready electric van

Kia has introduced a wheelchair-accessible conveyance (WAV) iteration of its archetypal electrical van. The PV5 WAV offers respective accessibility features, specified arsenic a side-entry strategy truthful a wheelchair idiosyncratic tin committee the van from the sidewalk, and a quick-use introduction ramp rated for 300kg (661 lbs). It's equipped with a tip-up spot successful the 3rd enactment truthful different riders tin assistance a wheelchair rider from the side. The PV5 WAV besides has a wheelchair-specific loop fastening system.

The marque collaborated with Motability Operations connected the debut of the PV5 WAV. Motability Operations is simply a semipermanent spouse of the UK's conveyance leasing program that helps radical with disabilities to person an accessible mode of transportation.

"By integrating cutting-edge Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) exertion with thoughtful design, we are paving the mode for a aboriginal wherever everyone tin bask the benefits of sustainable mobility, and our concern with Motability Operations is simply a testament to our committedness to making this imaginativeness a reality," Sangdae Kim, enforcement vice president and caput of Kia's PBV Division, said. The PBV tech has been the instauration for a fewer of Kia's caller conveyance announcements implicit the past year, including astatine CES 2024.

The modular exemplary of the PV5, Kia's archetypal electrical van, precocious began pre-orders successful the UK. Kia hasn't shared pricing accusation yet astir the WAV model, but the non-WAV mentation retails starting astatine £32,995 (about $44,000).