As Kia expands the PV5 range with new configurations, the company is displaying customised units at events to highlight their potential applications, in partnership with custom vehicle manufacturing firms.
At the 2026 Busan Mobility Show, we saw several customised PV5 concepts, including a mobile bank, a mobile bike transport service, and this electric school bus.
The Kia PV5 school bus featured in this story was co-developed with iBus, a South Korean company which specialises in school buses. The PBV Partner unit is finished in bright yellow, with gloss black panels around the windows, pillars, and lower sections giving it a dual-tone look.
Kia and iBus have used “School Bus” lettering and playful decals showing children and cat-face graphics on multiple sides to make the vehicle look more appealing.
The conversion also includes a stop arm, roof-mounted warning lights at the front and rear, and a long running board below the right-side power sliding door to aid ingress and egress.
Inside, the customised PV5 school bus features four rows of seats. Behind the front seats, it accommodates seven children in a 2+2+3 layout, with individual seat belts for every passenger. The outboard positions also get armrests.
The PV5 school bus version could launch in South Korea later this year. The company has also yet to confirm whether it plans to ship this configuration overseas, though.
Considering the load involved in this application, we expect it to use the PV5’s high-output motor producing 120 kW (161 bhp) and 250 Nm (184 lb.-ft.) of torque as standard. Similarly, the largest available 71.2 kWh battery pack manufactured by CATL and featuring prismatic NCM cells will likely be standard.
In the 5-seat passenger version, this setup gives a range of 358 km (222 miles) in South Korea. However, according to the WLTP method applicable in the UK, the range is 256 miles.
Kia has confirmed plans to introduce L1/H1 and L2/H2 configurations of the Cargo version and a 7-seat configuration of the Passenger version as part of the PV5 range expansion in the UK this year.
Trained as an automobile engineer, I’ve been following the global car market since 2005. Over the past 17 years, I’ve been involved in online automotive analysis and publishing, traveling the world to drive, evaluate, and experience new cars and technologies.
