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Kia has started taking reservations for its EV9, a full-size SUV that is positioned as the flagship for the company’s EV portfolio.
According to the company, the reservation for the Kia EV9 is $750 and can be applied towards the purchase price.
Kia taking reservations for EVs is a relatively new strategy for the automaker that started with the 2022 EV6 sedan. The EV9 is the second vehicle that Kia has allowed customers to reserve ahead of delivery. Of course, this is not a new strategy among EV startups that sell directly to the consumer. Tesla, which has long left the startup category, still uses reservation before vehicle delivery; In many cases the refundable deposit is taken years before delivery of the vehicle.
The wait will be very short for Kia EV9 reservation holders. The EV9 is expected to arrive in dealer showrooms in the fourth quarter of this year.
Kia is betting that an all-electric SUV will have the same kind of success as its internal combustion engine-powered Telluride had in the United States. The EV9 is a three-row SUV based on the company’s Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) with a 122-inch wheelbase and 197-inch overall length, making it in line with other full-size SUVs on the market. Including Telluride today.
The big selling point besides size and software? Kia is pricing the EV9 lower than other similarly sized EVs on the market today, like the Mercedes EQS SUV and the Rivian R1S. Kia EV9 pricing starts at $54,900, not including a $1,495 destination charge. The price comes out from there depending on the powertrain and trim.
The company is giving customers the option of two powertrain options. The standard powertrain comes with a 160-kilowatt (215-hp) motor with a 76.1-kWh battery that drives the rear wheels. There is also an optional 99.8-kWh battery that will be available in a single-motor configuration (201-hp), or a dual-motor, 283-kW (379-hp) all-wheel-drive configuration.
Customers can also choose between five model trims. The Lite trim is available with short or long range batteries. Other trims include Wind, Land and GT Line, which tops the price list at $73,900. The EV9’s range, which ranges from 230 to 304 miles, depends on powertrain and trim. The 304-mile range version is the Lite trim in rear-wheel drive equipped with a larger battery pack.
The stakes are certainly high for the company. “In many ways, we consider the Kia EV9 a new flagship for our brand,” Kia CEO Ho-Sung Song said in a livestream broadcast in March 2023. While the Kia EV6 played an important role in re-establishing the Kia brand. After its launch in 2021, the Kia EV9 will take us further.
