Kia officially opened pre-orders for its compact electric SUV, the EV3, in Mexico this week and announced it will pump $649 million into its Pesquería plant in Nuevo León to build the vehicle locally. The move marks the Korean automaker's first EV assembly in Latin America and puts the EV3 on a path to US showrooms by the end of 2026.
The investment comes as part of Plan México, the government's industrial policy framework, and was announced Wednesday morning during President Claudia Sheinbaum's daily press conference alongside Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Kia Mexico managing director Horacio Chavez. Reuters reported that the automaker's decision was one of the largest single manufacturing investments in Mexico's automotive sector this year.
"This is a priority objective of Plan México," Ebrard said. "At a time of so much uncertainty surrounding the automotive industry, the fact that this company, one of the most important in the world, is seeing productivity, opportunities, and investment potential in Mexico and choosing to invest here is highly meaningful."
Production of the EV3 at the Pesquería facility — located on the outskirts of Monterrey — is slated to begin on August 4. The plant has been running since May 2016 and can crank out roughly 400,000 vehicles a year. Right now it builds the K3 and K4 subcompacts and also assembles the Hyundai Tucson for export to more than 60 countries. The facility hit a two-million-vehicle milestone in August 2024 and was named the top manufacturing plant in Mexico and third in the Americas by JD Power's 2025 Initial Quality Study.
The EV3 line will create 500 new jobs this year and build to 1,500 direct positions by 2028–2030, according to local media outlet El Universal covering the press conference. Kia Mexico chief Andy Kim praised the country's economic growth and reaffirmed the company's commitment to being Mexico's "most strategic and reliable partner" over the next decade.
The EV3: Compact Electric Crossover Specs
The EV3 is a subcompact electric SUV built on Hyundai Motor Group's 400-volt E-GMP platform, the same architecture that underpins the larger EV6 and EV9. It won the 2025 World Car of the Year award, extending Hyundai Motor Group's streak of four consecutive overall victories before BMW's iX3 took the title in 2026.
Buyers in Mexico get two battery options. The Standard Range EX packs a 58.3 kWh battery good for 436 kilometers (270 miles) on the WLTP cycle, while the Extended Range SXL carries an 81.4 kWh pack that WLTP rates at 605 kilometers (375 miles). On the Mexican e-commerce platform Mercado Libre, the EV3 SXL trim is already listed at 767,700 pesos — about $44,000.
The US-spec version was revealed at the New York International Auto Show in April and will launch late this year as a 2027 model, as Electrek covered when pre-orders opened. It comes in five trims: Light, Wind, Land, GT-Line, and GT. The base Light uses the same 58.3 kWh battery with an estimated EPA range of up to 220 miles. Higher trims get the 81.4 kWh pack, which Kia estimates will deliver up to 320 miles in front-wheel-drive configuration. All-wheel drive is optional on Wind and Land trims and standard on the GT-Line and GT.
Kia says the EV3 can charge from 10 to 80 percent in about 29 minutes with the smaller battery and roughly 31 minutes with the larger one. The vehicle comes with a native NACS charge port, meaning buyers get direct access to the Tesla Supercharger network without an adapter. The 400V E-GMP platform supports 150 kW peak DC fast charging, which is competitive with other compact EVs in this price bracket.
The EV3 is expected to start at around $35,000 in the US, which would make it one of the most affordable electric SUVs on the market. At that price point, it would undercut the Chevrolet Equinox EV and the Volvo EX30 while offering comparable range and more interior space thanks to the taller SUV body.
Strategic Reversal for Kia in Mexico
The EV3 investment represents a notable shift for Kia in Mexico. Just two years ago, Horacio Chavez stated publicly that Kia had no plans to build EVs at the Pesquería plant. The latest announcement reverses that position completely.
That changed as the global EV market matured and Mexico's policy framework evolved. In May 2025, Kia committed $150 million to expand K4 production at the same facility, aiming to produce 280,000 units that year with 60 percent of output destined for 66 export markets.
Mexico-assembled EVs that meet USMCA rules of origin enter the US duty-free, while non-compliant vehicles face a combined 27.5 percent tariff — the standard 2.5 percent most-favored-nation rate plus a 25 percent Section 232 national security tariff. USMCA utilization among Mexican exporters has jumped from 44.8 percent in January 2025 to 85 percent by January 2026, suggesting the trade deal's preferential access is working as intended.
The first formal six-year USMCA review began in July 2026, adding a layer of policy uncertainty to long-term automotive trade across North America. Mexico itself raised tariffs on imports from non-free-trade-agreement countries to between 5 and 50 percent on January 1, 2026, which could push more automakers to localize production rather than import finished vehicles.
Kia's Global EV Footprint Expands
The Pesquería plant joins a growing list of Kia EV production sites worldwide. In Europe, Kia started assembling the EV4 hatchback at its Žilina plant in Slovakia in August 2025 and followed with the EV2 in March, after investing more than €200 million in the facility. It also builds the EV6 and EV9 in South Korea and the EV9 at its plant in West Point, Georgia.
The company has set a global sales target of 3.35 million vehicles for 2026, with 2.775 million units expected overseas and 565,000 in its home market of South Korea. Adding Mexican production capacity is a key step toward those targets.
Ebrard noted that EV production positions Mexico for future industries like battery manufacturing and expands export potential beyond the US and Canada into Latin America and other emerging markets. In May, Ebrard and South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo established a strategic ministerial dialogue and a dedicated working group to modernize bilateral trade and investment relations. Talks toward a formal bilateral trade agreement have been underway since 2022, building on six decades of diplomatic relations.
President Sheinbaum called the Kia investment "great news" and said a meaningful share of the locally produced EV3 is intended for the domestic market, as Mexico aims to accelerate EV adoption. That fits with the broader Plan Mexico push to attract technology-heavy manufacturing projects and keep the country competitive as the global auto industry pivots to electric powertrains.
The EV3 will also carry roughly 27 percent national content at launch, rising gradually as the supply chain localizes. That figure is important because USMCA rules of origin for EVs require 75 percent regional value content for passenger vehicles and 70 percent for the battery pack — thresholds that Kia will need to meet over time to maintain tariff-free access.
You can check out more EV coverage on the EV category page. And read about the battery chemistry behind the E-GMP platform's fast-charging ability on the Battery Tech category page.