Kia Concept PV5 Comes From a Future Where Cars Are One Thing by Day and Another by Night

The thing is, some of these ideas, as wacky and unreal as they seem, do have a chance of becoming reality. Especially when a major global corporation puts its entire weight behind it, and even announces a strategy meant to take us there.

That's what Kia did with the smart city thing I mentioned earlier. Although it will not contribute to making cities smarter through new buildings or infrastructure, the South Koreans do plan to fulfill the transportation needs of the inhabitants of such a future city. How? With something called the Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV).

The PBV is not a vehicle per se, but more of a strategy. Its ultimate goal is to have highly customizable mobility platforms serving the needs of humans by being connected, smart, and fully autonomous.

Kia announced three phases of the PBV strategy. The first will focus on the creation of a vehicle that can be used for hailing, delivery, and utilities. It will also use enhanced data connectivity to become part of a software-defined fleet.

Phase two will see the expansion of the vehicle offering from one to several (it's unclear at the moment how many vehicles will eventually be in the lineup).

By the last phase of the project, which will be reached at an undefined moment in the future, the fleet of Kia vehicles will grow smart, will get highly customizable as to serve the many needs of the city dwellers, and they will of course be all self-driving and part of a connected smart city.

The important thing to note is the fact that, no matter the use envisioned for them, the PBV vehicles will be modular. What that means is that, technically, the same vehicle platform can be one thing by day and an entirely different one by night. It's like having more vehicles in one, and all you need to do is swap a thing or two about it to change its purpose.

How is this possible? Technically, it's very simple, and it kind of makes you wonder why no one else thought about it before.

All PBV vehicles will be based on a weldless body structure assembly Kia calls Dynamic Hybrid. The way it is made allows for the adjustment of the length of moveable members to serve a specific need for the user.

The structure is made of high-strength tubular steel and engineered polymers, reducing the number of parts used to make it by 55 percent compared to standard vehicles, all while maintaining the same rigidity.

Kia plans to ship these structures to its customers as kits, allowing for quick customization at their place of work. That's done using something called the Easy Swap. In essence, all a user needs to do to change the use of a PBV build is to connect various modules to the same chassis.

The connection will be made by means of electromagnetic and mechanical couplings. The modules will change the utility of the vehicle depending on momentary needs: it can be a taxi, or a delivery van, or a recreational vehicle, you name it.

When configured as a van, the PBV will be equipped with an integrated rail system (installed in the ceiling, floor, and side panels) that will allow for quick transfer of goods, even from one van to another. Functional accessories, including speakers and shelves, will also be included in the package.

At the core of this whole crazy idea is a machine called the Kia PV5. Shown as a concept at CES 2024, it should be on the roads in the second part of this decade, and it will be offered in four variants, namely Basic, Van, High Roof, and Chassis Cab.

During the second phase of the strategy, Kia will introduce several other versions of the idea in the same family. Joining the PV5 will be the PV7, the largest vehicle in this lineup, and the PV1, sitting at the opposite end. Additionally, a robotaxi variant put together with help from autonomous vehicle specialist Motional will also enter the market.

All these vehicles will be electric, but Kia did not go as far as to detail the drivetrains that will power them.

You may wonder why I am so confident Kia will make all of the above a reality, given how far-fetched some of these things may seem. It's all because of the announcement made by the carmaker at CES.

The South Koreans have announced they are actively building a factory in their home country, tasked specifically with making PBVs. Kia intends to roll out no less than 150,000 of them each year once operations are up and running there in 2025.