Adorable Kia camper vans are about to grow in a major way

Many of our most popular camper van articles of 2026 have one thing in common: the Kia PV5. The smallest member of Kia's Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) modular electric family has proven a highly covetable base for camper vans, and it's about to get its first sibling. Kia will reveal the larger PV7 in less than two weeks. Will it prove as popular a camper van base as the PV5, bringing more space and floor plan versatility in a still-compact, efficient package, or will buyers continue to gravitate toward the tiny dimensions of the PV5 when given the choice?

If one thing's for sure about the production PV7, it's that it will share the styling DNA of the PV5 – a triumphant positive. We see in the teaser photos that it wears the short hood, narrow lights, funky wheels and two-tone paint scheme that have become familiar marks of the PV5 cargo and passenger vans.

In contrast to what it did with the PV5, Kia never explored a PV7 camper van during the concept phase. Still, it's clear the automaker has camping usage on its mind at this early stage of production rollout. The only teaser photo showing the production van's rear-end ahead of its mid-September debut does so from the vantage point of a large, breezy cabin tent, furnished with a folding table and chair set.

Clearly, someone's camping and they're using the PV7 to do so.

We'd like to think that teaser was dropped as a little hint that Kia will show a PV7 camper van concept as part of the model's IAA Transportation debut, but we're not too confident. During the concept stage, it focused in on the PV7's commercial versatility, and that seems highly likely to continue during its debut at a commercial vehicles show.

That said, Kia does say in its teaser that the photos quite purposefully place the PV7 in a "range of everyday settings, showcasing its adaptability across different lifestyles and work scenarios." Camping and van life are certainly "different lifestyles" to which the PV7 can readily adapt.

Whether or not Kia shows a camper van of its own anytime soon, it won't take long for eager camper van conversion companies to get to work inside and outside the larger PV electric van. Some have already noted the uncommonly high demand for PV5 campers and alluded to early plans to bring the PV7 into the fold.

The PV7 was initially shown as the largest van in the PBV series, but Kia later announced plans for a PV9. The PV7 concept measured in at 527 cm (207 in) long, considerably longer than the 470-cm (185-in) production PV5.

That 57-cm (22-in) difference is just 10 cm (4 in) shy of the spread between the 450-cm (191-in) Volkswagen Caddy California and the 517-cm (204-in) Multivan-based California. And it's actually 25 cm (10 in) greater than the difference between the long-wheelbase Caddy California Maxi and the Multivan California.

Either way, we've seen how much difference that extra floor space makes in increasing amenities and versatility in the Multivan California lineup over what's offered in the Caddy California lineup, not to mention the vastly superior selection of midsize Volkswagen camper floor plans from third-party converters compared to Caddy packages.

Similarly, the PV7 should open up new design opportunities for camper van pros, creating space for more varied layouts that meet the needs of different types of travelers.

Kia will debut the PV7 at IAA Transportation in Hannover, Germany on September 14. In addition to showing the PV7 for the first time, it will highlight the versatility of the PV5 platform, showing it in various commercial and lifestyle guises.

Source: Kia Europe