Not long ago, a car was simply a way to get from point A to point B. Today, it has become a connected space that learns, adapts and even converses with its passengers. In-vehicle technology, once viewed as a convenience, has now become a critical component in creating safer, smarter and more inclusive journeys.
This is the space where Kia, as a leading Sustainable Mobility Solutions Provider, is pushing boundaries. By combining advanced connectivity, modular design and AI-powered intelligence, the brand is demonstrating how modern in-vehicle technology can move beyond transport to enable independence, support businesses and enrich everyday life. From Platform Beyond Vehicles (PBVs) to Kia Connect and the global AI Assistant, Kia is creating a technological path toward mobility that feels personal, seamless and futureproof.
Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV): A new mobility era
At the heart of Kia’s latest wave of innovation is its Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) strategy, embodied most notably by the Kia PV5. Unveiled at the 2025 Kia EV Day and with mass production beginning in November 2025, the PV5 marks Kia’s first purpose-built PBV model, delivering adaptability across passenger, cargo and conversion variants. The move reflects Kia’s ambition to disrupt the expanding Electric Light Commercial Vehicle (ELCV) segment, where demand for flexible, efficient and sustainable solutions is rapidly outpacing conventional offerings. By reimagining vehicles as configurable platforms, Kia is directly addressing this market transformation.
More broadly, the PBV range has been designed with versatility at its core. It can deliver packages as a Cargo model, transport commuters in a Passenger version or serve as a leisure vehicle for weekends away. Leveraging the PBV-tailored E-GMP.S skateboard platform and Flexible Body System, Kia enables up to 16 different configurations—ranging from standard Cargo to Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV)—by swapping modular body elements like puzzle pieces.
The PV5 also introduces WAV-specific innovations, including a side-entry ramp, a third-row tip-up seat and universal wheelchair fastening systems. Here, the technology takes on a deeply human dimension. For a wheelchair user, this can mean boarding independently from the curb; for caregivers, it provides safer, more efficient access. This approach demonstrates Kia’s commitment to making sustainable mobility truly inclusive.
Kia Connect: Staying connected to what matters
While PBV defines mobility’s next frontier, Kia Connect continues to enrich everyday driving through a comprehensive suite of connected services that bring remote control, comfort, safety and intelligence directly to the driver.
Features include remote start, climate control, Digital Key 2.0 for secure access and virtual key sharing, “Find My Car,” remote lock and unlock, and rear occupant alerts, all accessible through a smartphone or smartwatch. Real-time routing, weather updates and over-the-air (OTA) upgrades ensure the infotainment system remains current and continuously improving.
Kia Connect is currently available in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, and is expected to launch in Saudi Arabia within 2025. Customers with selected new models will benefit from a complimentary three-year trial of Kia Connect and Digital Key 2.0. Beginning in 2025, Kia Connect will be available across seven models—Tasman, EV3, EV5, EV6, EV9, K8 and PV5—expanding to 16 models by 2027.
Kia AI Assistant: A glimpse of conversational mobility
Globally, Kia is advancing into the realm of true conversational AI. Its AI Assistant, powered by generative AI, enables natural, context-aware interactions, whether asking about trip planning (“camping tomorrow, what should I take?”), cultural etiquette (“dining etiquette in a majlis setting?”) or in-car functions (“which driving assistance systems help in traffic?”).
Introduced in Korea in July 2024 and the U.S. in November 2024, the AI Assistant reached Europe via OTA updates for the EV3 from March 2025 onward. Although not yet available in the Middle East, Kia’s trajectory clearly indicates that seamless, anticipatory in-vehicle AI will become a defining feature of future rollouts in the region.
A multi-layered vision for mobility
Kia’s in-vehicle evolution is unfolding across parallel fronts. PBV represents the transformation of the vehicle into a platform—highly modular, software-enabled and ready for business applications. Kia Connect and the AI Assistant illustrate how everyday driving is becoming smarter, more connected and conversational.
Together, these innovations create a layered vision of mobility, spanning individual convenience through to scalable, inclusive mobility ecosystems. Whether through configurable vehicle architectures for fleets or voice-driven, intelligent experiences in passenger cars, Kia is shaping a future where technology enriches movement every day, at every level and for everyone.
