Kia's EV3 will start under $31,000 in the US

Kia

Kia has announced the US pricing for the EV3, the more compact version of its EV9 SUV. The car will start at $29,450 plus a $1,495 destination charge. Even at $30,945, that's well under the $35,000 the company was targeting when it announced it was bringing the EV3 to the US in April.

The EV3 gets up to 321 miles of all-electric range and is available in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations. The car features EV9 design elements in a size that's almost identical to Kia's Niro crossover. Like other modern EVs, the EV3 has an NACS port that makes it compatible with Tesla's Supercharger network and Kia says it can charge from 10 to 80% in around 31 minutes with a 350kW DC fast charger.

The new price makes the EV3 the cheapest electric car in Kia's lineup at a time when it's increasingly difficult to buy an affordable EV in the US. Following the Trump administration's rollback of Biden-era tax credits in July 2025, several car makers have retired EV models or cancelled their EV plans entirely. The Kia EV3 is one of a small group of cars, like the Slate Truck, that manage to hit a sub-$30,000 price.

The group is set to grow soon. In early August, Ford announced that its upcoming "Fathom" EV truck will cost $28,350 and should ship sometime in early 2027. Financial incentives to purchase electric cars are also returning. In July, California introduced a new EV rebate program that gives first-time buyers a $3,500 instant rebate on new EVs and a $1,500 instant rebate on used EVs.