TAKE one look at these photos and you’d be forgiven for thinking: Kia’s gone posh and abandoned the average Joe.
You’d be half right.
It HAS gone posh but it HASN’T abandoned Joe.
We know that because boss man president Ho Sung Song told us: “We will never leave existing customers behind. EV9 is the new halo model for the brand, but stay tuned for the next launches from Kia.
“We will tailor for each and every segment. The ultimate goal is to consistently deliver the most inspiring experiences to our customers through all our products, from smaller to high-end.”
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To back that up, Kia has already registered the names EV1 to EV9 for its electric car roll-out.
EV for Electric Vehicle and 1 to 9 takes us from XS to XL.
The EV6 saloon is already here and a hit. EV9 is a hulking six or seven-seat SUV arriving later this year.
Then in 2024 we get EV5, a smaller and cheaper Sportage-sized SUV, followed by EV3, an XCeed-sized crossover to be built at the Ceed factory in Slovakia from 2025.
I’ve done a bit of digging and Kia’s next-gen electrical systems “for EVs across all segments” will provide a 50 per cent improvement in range compared to current EVs.
Could that possibly mean 400 miles for EV3? We’ll see.
But the Koreans will only make EV1, a Picanto-sized city runabout, when battery costs make it viable.
And when there are lots of places for people to plug them in.
Not soon, then.
But EV1 will come. Because it has to. Ho Sung Song promised.
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This seems like a good place to remind you that Picanto petrol is getting a major refresh this summer — inside and out — and will be with us for several years yet.
The popular Sportage will continue alongside EV5 for as long as plug-in hybrids are allowed, which is currently until 2035.
One more thing.
Kia will also start making vans from late 2025 — using a fully flexible electric “skateboard” base which allows for different bodies to sit on top.
See. It really will make EVs for EVeryone.
Right, let’s circle back to EV9. After having a good poke around the concept, I can honestly say Volvo chiefs will soon be choking on their pickled herring and crispbread.
Because EV9 is a classy, tech-rich, rapid-charging electric SUV with swivel seats and a leather-free, eco-friendly interior.
It’ll be expensive at £65k and upwards, but still way cheaper than a Volvo EX90. Way, way cheaper than a Range Rover EV.
The base EV9 will be rear-wheel drive and travel up to 336 miles on a full charge.
Decent.
The dual-motor all-wheel drive version will be 379hp and accelerate from 0-62mph in just 5.3 seconds with an optional boost feature.
Rapid.
That’s why it has wipe-clean seats. Both use a large 99.8kWh battery with 800-volt rapid charging that can add almost 150 miles in a 15-minute tea and pee break.
Both are fully armed with all sorts of driver-assistance tech I won’t bore you with. Except to say tech and electrification are definitely blurring the lines between mainstream and premium.
Ho Sung Song also confirmed that an all-singing EV9 GT will top the range in 2025. Excellent.
But a small, low-price EV1 will be the No1 hit.
