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Kia is taking its electric PBV vans to a new overseas market after securing a local sales contract in Japan. The fit-for-purpose EV vans are part of Kia’s plans to become a leading total mobility solutions provider. Kia’s first electric PBV van was recently spotted in the wild ahead of its official launch.

Kia unveiled its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business plans at the 2024 CES in Las Vegas. The new PBVs are designed as total mobility solutions or fit-for-purpose EVs loaded with advanced software.

According to Kia’s CEO, Ho Sung Song, the PBVs are tailor-made electric vans that “go beyond the traditional concept of automobiles.”

Kia says its PBVs, with their spacious, flexible interiors, “open the door to new businesses and lifestyles.” The electric vans can be used for business or personal use. Ideal clients would include delivery or transport services or even someone looking for a custom van to travel around in.

With three models (PV1, PV5, and PV7), Kia plans to cover all segments. The first due to hit the market is the mid-size PV5.

The PV5 will be available in different configurations, including basic (passenger van), van (for transport and delivery), and chassis (think of a pickup truck bed).

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Kia PBV Concepts (Source: Kia)

Kia to launch electric vans in another overseas market

We already knew Kia was planning to launch PBVs in Europe. Last week, Kia’s electric vans made their European debut at IAA Hanover.

On Tuesday, Kia announced plans to launch electric vans in another key overseas region. After signing a new local sales contract with Sojitz, Kia said it will sell PBVs in Japan starting in 2026.

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Kia PV5 electric van concept (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)

The agreement comes as demand for small and medium-sized EV vans is expected to continue rising in Japan. Japan’s carbon-neutral policy calls for 30% of new car sales to be electric by 2030, and vans will play a significant role.

Kia will sell electric vans in Japan through its partnership with Sojitz, a leading local trading company.

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Kia’s first electric PBV, the PV5 Concept (Source: Kia)

Like in other markets, Kia’s PV5 will be the first PBV to hit the market. The partnership kicks off Kia’s plans to expand Japan’s electric van market by working with local companies to create a “PBV ecosystem” with bidirectional charging technology and more.

Kia will introduce new EV van models in Japan in the future, including the PV7, as it looks to secure global leadership.

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Kia’s first electric PBV, the PV5 Concept (Source: Kia)

A sneak peek

Ahead of its official debut, Kia’s PV5 electric van was spotted out testing last week. Despite the camouflage, the video from CarSpyMedia shows the boxy PV5 design. The prototype shown in January features a bold design to stand out in the electric era.

Kia PV5 spotted charging (Source: CarSpyMedia)

The electric van will challenge Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz in Europe. Although prices have not been officially revealed, the PV5 is expected to start at around $39,000 (€35,000) in Europe.

In comparison, the Volkswagen ID.Buzz starts at around $70,000 (€64,581) in Germany, including VAT. In the US, VW’s electric van starts at $61,545.

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Volkswagen three-row ID.Buzz (Source: Volkswagen US Media Site_

All PBV models will be built at Kia’s new dedicated Autoland Hwaseong plant in Korea. Set to open next year, the plant is expected to have up to 150,000 annual unit capacity. By the end of the decade, that number could double to around 300,000.

Several automakers and startups, including Ford, GM, VW, Rivian, and others, are looking to enter the growing EV van market.

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Trump’s CFPB drops enforcement of buy now, pay later rule in latest rollback of consumer protections

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Trump's CFPB drops enforcement of buy now, pay later rule in latest rollback of consumer protections

The entrance to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters is seen during a protest on Feb. 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

For the third time under President Donald Trump, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has pulled back from enforcing a key rule, this time targeting buy now, pay later services.

The CFPB said in a notice on Tuesday that it will not prioritize enforcement of a rule, established during Joe Biden’s presidency, that classified BNPL providers as credit card issuers subject to the Truth in Lending Act. Fintech lenders had been required to comply with more stringent consumer protections, including standardized disclosures, refund processing and formal dispute investigations.

Affirm and other BNPL firms had voiced opposition to the billing statement requirement, arguing that it would confuse users and add unnecessary friction.

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“Requiring BNPL providers to comply with rules designed for open-end credit cards creates compliance challenges and confusing outcomes for consumers,” Affirm wrote in a formal comment letter, urging the CFPB to adopt rules that reflect how consumers actually use BNPL products.

The CFPB is looking to go even further as it’s considering rescinding the rule entirely, citing a need to focus resources on “pressing threats to consumers,” especially service members, veterans, and small businesses.

In October, the Financial Technology Association, which represents major BNPL players, sued the CFPB, claiming the agency overstepped by imposing credit card-like restrictions through an interpretive rule rather than a formal one.

The CFPB notice comes as new consumer data shows mounting pressures in the market.

A Bankrate survey released Monday found that nearly half of BNPL users have faced financial problems tied to these services. As usage rises, particularly for essentials like groceries, missed payments are increasing as well.

Affirm is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday. Rival Klarna is on file to go public, but delayed its IPO last month after President Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs roiled financial markets.

WATCH: Block shares plummet 20% as Q1 earnings miss rattles Wall Street

Block shares plummet 20% as Q1 earnings miss rattles Wall Street

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58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump’s meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows

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58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump's meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows

Jack Mallers looks to rival Strategy with new bitcoin company backed by Tether and SoftBank

About 764,000 wallets that purchased President Donald Trump‘s $TRUMP meme coin have lost money on the investment, according to fresh data shared with CNBC by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Most of the wallets that lost money held smaller amounts of the token, according to the firm’s on-chain analysis. Crypto wallets are accounts that store the keys you need to access and use your cryptocurrency holdings.

Chainalysis said that while around 2 million wallets have bought into the token, 58 wallets made more than $10 million apiece, totaling roughly $1.1 billion in gains.

The $TRUMP token, which surged in popularity after being tied to the start of Trump’s second term, has seen sharp price swings and highly uneven returns for investors. Fight Fight Fight LLC. and CIC Digital LLC., control the bulk of the token’s supply.

CNBC has reached out to Fight Fight Fight LLC. for comment on the Chainalysis numbers.

Interest in the coin spiked more than 50% after the project’s website promised the top 220 holders a seat at a black-tie-optional dinner with the president.

The $TRUMP event, set for May 22 at the president’s Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C., includes a reception for the 25 wallets with the largest coin balance, along with a White House tour.

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The dinner-pegged rally pushed the token’s market cap to $2.7 billion at its peak, though it has since pulled back to around $2.17 billion.

Since that rally, around 54,000 wallets have bought the coin. In total, 100,000 new wallets have purchased $TRUMP since April 15, Chainalysis said, extending the post-announcement surge despite ongoing volatility in the broader crypto market.

The Trump-branded meme token has drawn scrutiny from regulators and ethics watchdogs.

Lawmakers are now formally investigating whether the $TRUMP meme coin — and a related crypto venture called World Liberty Financial, which sends 75% of revenue to the Trump family — constitute a direct conflict of interest for the president.

The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has launched a probe into the token’s ownership structure and revenue model, while House Democrats stormed out of a crypto hearing in protest.

At the center of the controversy is the dinner competition for top token holders, promotional posts from the president himself, and ties to foreign investors including a state-backed Emirati fund and crypto mogul Justin Sun.

Launched in January ahead of Trump’s second inauguration, the token’s value initially soared to $15 billion after a series of promotional posts from the president on Truth Social and X. It lost most of that value within days.

Only 20% of the token’s total supply is currently in circulation. The remaining 80% — reportedly controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliated entities — is locked under a three-year vesting schedule. Public disclosures say insiders have agreed not to sell their allocations for another few months.

Even with their tokens under vesting restrictions, insiders are earning substantial revenue.

Since January, more than $324 million in trading fees have been routed to wallets tied to the project’s creators, according to Chainalysis. The token’s code automatically directs a cut of each transaction to these addresses, allowing the team to profit from ongoing activity.

Trump signs executive order to establish U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve

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Lucid (LCID) plans to double EV production this year, even with tariffs

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Lucid (LCID) plans to double EV production this year, even with tariffs

Lucid Motors (LCID) reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, reaffirming its plans to more than double EV production in 2025. Despite the threat of new tariffs, the EV maker expects to continue building momentum after another record quarter.

Lucid stands by 20,000 EV production goal for 2025

In the first three months of 2025, Lucid delivered 3,109 vehicles, setting its fifth straight quarterly record. The company’s production is also picking up, with 2,213 vehicles built at its Casa Grande plant in Arizona. Another 600 were in transit to Saudi Arabia, where they will be assembled at Lucid’s new AMP-2 plant.

At this rate, Lucid is on track to deliver around 12,500 vehicles, easily topping the 10,200 vehicles it delivered in 2024.

With its first electric SUV, the Gravity, now rolling out, Lucid is poised to see even more demand throughout the year.

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Lucid reported first-quarter revenue of $235 million, up slightly from the $234.5 million in Q4 2024 and an increase of 35% from Q1 2024.

Despite higher sales, the EV maker cut its net loss to $366 million from over $680 million in the first quarter of 2024. Lucid also improved gross margins by 37 pts year-over-year (YOY) to -97%.

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Lucid Q1 2025 financial earnings results (Source: Lucid Group)

Even with the added tariffs, Lucid still expects to produce around 20,000 vehicles in 2025, more than double the roughly 9,000 cars it made last year.

Like most automakers, Lucid is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump administration, including possibly ending the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Earlier today, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said there’s “a better chance we kill it than save it” during an interview.

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Lucid Gravity electric SUV at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Lucid Motors)

The company said, “A thorough analysis of tariffs, supply chain, and related macroeconomic uncertainties is ongoing.”

Lucid ended the first quarter with around $5.76 billion in total liquidity, which the company said is enough to fund it into the second half of 2026, when it plans to launch its midsize platform.

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Lucid midsize electric SUV teaser image (Source: Lucid)

Former CEO Peter Rawlinson said earlier this year that Lucid’s midsize platform is “finally when we compete directly with Tesla.” The first two vehicles are expected to be an electric SUV and sedan, starting at around $50,000, which could rival Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3.

But first, it will focus on its new electric SUV. The Lucid Gravity Grand Touring is available to order starting at $94,900 with up to 450 miles of range. Later this year, Lucid will launch the lower-priced Touring trim, starting at $79,900.

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