Kia EV5, Volvo electric minivan, Nissan Leaf replacement, EV quality issues: Today’s Car News
Nissan is reportedly readying a Leaf replacement. Volvo teases an electric minivan. The Kia EV5 bows from China but looks ready to tackle ID.4. And why do EV owners see more quality issues? This and more, here at City Dwellers.
The Kia EV5 was officially revealed in China, but it appears to be a sweet spot in the vehicle market that would translate well across continents. The compact electric SUV borrows design cues from the larger EV9 but appears to measure up as a direct rival to gasoline best-sellers like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4—as well as electric models like the VW ID.4 and Nissan Ariya.
Volvo teased its first electric minivan, the EM90, as being “like a Scandinavian living room on the move.” Although the model won’t be revealed until November, and it’s set for China at least initially, the Zeekr 009 that sets the template for it suggests a product that might be the kind of long-awaited reinvention of the minivan Americans would pay attention to.
Nissan has reportedly previewed a new “offensive” of electric vehicles due to arrive around 2025, including a next-generation Leaf and a boxy counterpoint to the Ariya, in addition to the electric Maxima replacement already due to be made in Mississippi. Nissan also again reportedly delayed its e-Power hybrid system a decade in the making—to a version of the Rogue not arriving until late 2026.
And in its latest round of looking at the first 90 days of vehicle ownership, survey giant J.D. Power found that EV owners experience more quality issues, versus owners of gasoline models. That’s not because of the propulsion system but because of all the additional tech typically packed into EVs—although EVs from Polestar and Genesis are top-showing exceptions.
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