Kia Canada Showcases 2026 Fleet Offerings
Kia Canada has a healthy allotment of Hybrids and PHEVs for 2026, including the Sportage PHEV. (Credit : Kia Motor America)
(L-R) Kia Canada’s Carolina Romero, Courtney Richardson and Deepali Bhatia at the 2025 Ride and Drive Event. (Credit : Huw Evans)
Jose Nunes, Senior Manager, National Sales, welcomes attendees to the event. (Credit : Huw Evans)
On display at the Ride and Drive was the new PV5 all-electric Cargo Van. (Credit : Huw Evans)
On October 6-7, Kia Canada held its annual Ride & Drive Program. This event brings together fleet professionals from government and commercial operations for two-days of driving evaluations, insights and networking.
Beginning at Kia Canada Corporate Headquarters in Mississauga, this year’s event saw the group, drive through some of the most scenic countryside in Ontario, taking in the popular Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, in Caledon. This provided the group with a chance to evaluate a full range of vehicles on varying types of roads, from highways to steep grades and switchbacks.
Jose Nunes, Senior Manager, National Sales, welcomed attendees to the event, and provided an overview. Nunes said that for 2025, Kia Canada had assembled 16 vehicles to evaluate, including three EV models—the EV4, EV5 and EV9.
Diverse lineup
Nunes noted that Kia Canada is on target for a record year in sales and fleet orders are a major part of that. He explained that some of the vehicles were being displayed to potential buyers for the first time emphasizing the value that Kia Canada places on its fleet partners and customers.
Additionally, she said, hybrids and plug-ins along with battery electric vehicle options allow fleets to benefit from the operating cost savings that come from these technologies.
Committed to fleet customers
Richardson noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, while some OEMs essentially dropped or significantly scaled back fleet orders, prioritizing retail customers, Kia Canada remained committed to its fleet business and customers. The brand has seen its fleet business grow 12% year-over-year and overall market share for Kia in Canada continues to grow. In 2025, Kia Canada was up 12% in year-to-date sales volume and Richardson took the opportunity to thank Kia’s fleet partners and customers for their business and support of the brand.
Kia has been actively focused on bringing new vehicles with fresh design and added features to the marketplace, and its three-year model refresh cycles are in advance of industry norms. For 2026 Kia is introducing four new models to the Canadian marketplace, which will bolster the existing product range.
Carolina Romero, Fleet Supervisor, noted that while many fleet managers are currently working through their budgets and vehicle purchases for 2026, Kia Canada is already accepting orders and going through its fleet allotment. Romero explained that economic and political changes including tariffs in the U.S., are changing the product dynamic and there are certain vehicle lines where more planning is required to fulfill orders.
Healthy allotment
“For those that are looking towards emissions and fuel savings, but aren’t ready for that full EV experience, we have a very healthy allotment of Hybrids and Plug-In Hybrids available,” Romero explained.
One vehicle line that’s seen tremendous year-over-year growth (300%) has been the Sorento SUV, where the company is focusing in Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid models.
Another vehicle that’s proving very popular with fleet customers is the K4 sedan and Kia is looking to augment the lineup with a new K4 hatchback that adds further versatility.
In addition, the Niro also continues to resonate with fleet buyers, sales growing 9% year over year. Romero noted that these vehicles have proved particularly popular with government agencies due to their size and efficiency.
The Sportage mid-size SUV is also popular and currently has a healthy fleet allocation with good availability of the Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid models.
A highly anticipated entry for both commercial and passenger use is the Kia PV5 battery-electric van. Kia Canada had some examples on static display during the Ride and Drive event.
The PV5 is designed as a passenger van and commercial cargo van (only the latter is currently slated for Canada) and is built on Kia’s Electric-Global Modular Platform for Service (E-GMP-S) architecture. This design enables Kia to achieve maximum cargo room, with a minimal footprint. It features a flat, low-level floor, making it easy to load and unload cargo, as well as configuring the vehicle for various uses, including a range of upfitting options.
The PV5 Cargo Van pairs a 71.2kWh battery with a front mounted motor, delivering 160 hp, 184 lb-ft of torque. The van’s relatively compact dimensions, low floor and roof height, mean that it is more practical than some competitors on the market, particularly for urban last-mile delivery use and parking garages with height restrictions.
