Kia PV5 sets world record for longest run on a single charge

The Kia PV5 Cargo has been awarded with a Guinness World record for achieving the single longest run by a light-duty battery-powered van with maximum payload on a single charge. 

The distance travelled – 693.38km – took place on public roads north of Frankfurt, in Germany, and was designed to replicate the real-world conditions of delivery and logistics operations. The journey was 22 hours and 30 minutes in total and was recorded using GPS tracking and in-cabin cameras. 

A 58km loop was taken twelve times, along with traffic lights, roundabouts, and a 370m elevation gain on each round. 

Kia said that the performance of the van was thanks to how the engineers have optimised the vehicle, ensuring that an extra 100kg of payload reduced the range by only 1.5%. It is also built on Kia’s E-GMP.S (Electric-Global Modular Platform for Service). 

Kia added that it demonstrates the growing maturity of battery electric technology and the hope that electric vehicles will come to rival their diesel counterparts in range, which is especially challenging for the requirements of the logistics industry, in which long-haul journeys are typical. 

The PV5 Cargo belongs to Kia’s PBV lineup, which is set to add a new addition when the Concept PV7 comes to market, its second electric van. It is designed to be built on the foundations of the PV5 Cargo while offering greater space and software-based solutions and services.