The Kia EV4 is still on track to arrive in Canada in early 2026, Kia Canada told this blog.

This is despite a delay in the United States.

Various news outlets in the U.S. have reported Kia is delaying the launch of the electric vehicle there “until further notice.”

In other words, the delay is indefinite. The wonderful or terrible thing about indefinite timelines is they can mean anything from as little as five minutes to as long as ’til the end of time, or more clearly, probably even Kia doesn’t know the fate of the car in the U.S.

This makes it the second Kia EV that will be coming to Canada in 2026, but not in the U.S.

The other model is the EV5.

The difference is that the EV5, an electric SUV, was never supposed to be sold in the U.S., whereas the EV4, an electric car, was. Technically, the EV4 is still slated in the U.S., but we just don’t know when.

Kia is not the only automaker pulling an EV from the U.S. but not Canada.

Nissan announced the Ariya, which had been available in the U.S., will be discontinued there for the 2026 model year, but it will continue to be sold in Canada alongside the new Nissan Leaf.

Why are EVs disappearing in the states?

There are two key factors causing problems for automakers to sell electric vehicles in the United States.

One, the U.S. ended its EV incentive program, which is hurting sales. Canada ended its incentive as well, but the second factor is likely creating an even bigger problem.

The U.S. placed higher tariffs on vehicle imports into the country. The current tariff rate on Korean vehicles is 15 per cent (it had been as high as 25 per cent recently). On Japanese vehicle imports, the rate is also 15 per cent, although it could have been as high as 27.5 per cent.

The EV4 and EV5 are assembled in South Korea, and the Nissan Ariya is assembled in Japan.

Canada has a 6.1 per cent tariff rate on imports from most countries it does business with.

About the Kia EV4

The EV4 had its global unveiling at the New York International Auto Show, and is one of several Kia models expected to offer low-cost, all-electric options for Canadians. Others include the aforementioned EV5 as well as the EV3, which had been named the world car of the year.

The EV4 will be available with two battery options, with the base battery having a capacity of 58.3 kWh, while the long-range models would get a capacity of 81.4 kWh.

The car is expected to have both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions.

Despite the car utilizing the 400V architecture, Kia anticipates sold fast-charging rates. The automaker said the batteries can charge from 10 to 80 per cent with DC fast-charging in as little as 29 (smaller battery) or 31 minutes (larger battery).

In Canada, the EV4 will come standard with North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port, which will be located on the front passenger side.

For updates, visit the Kia Canada website.

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