Kia Australia is getting more pre-sale interest in its upcoming EV6 electric vehicle than any previous model, with a mix of existing and new customers said to be lining up.
Dean Norbiato, General Manager for Marketing at Kia Australia, told CarExpert website the traffic and expressions of interest for the brand’s first dedicated electric vehicle is unprecedented for a Kia.
“The consumer interest in the EV6 has been across all variants and is like no other Kia model that has arrived before it when you index it against website traffic and expressions of interest of other halo models, like Sorento and Stinger,” Mr Norbiato said.
“We’ve had a fantastic response from existing Kia customers which is very important. Interestingly, EV6 is also catching the eye of a new generation of future Kia customers who haven’t experienced the brand but are looking for advanced performance and tech all wrapped in a striking category-blurring design.”
As the company is experiencing across its line-up, however, the Kia EV6 may be subject to supply constraints due to global demand, with Australian production coming out of the same factory that services global markets like Europe.
“Supply for EV6 will be tight. Priority will be given to regions with CO2 regulations,” said Roland Rivero, General Manager for Product Planning at Kia Australia.
“We are very excited about our first dedicated EV. We believe it will have a substantial role to play in further enhancing and elevating our brand.”
The Kia EV6 will arrive locally during the first half of 2022, with the first vehicles potentially landing as early as January to serve on the Australian Open courtesy vehicle fleet – though first customer deliveries may commence some time after.
Kia EV6 (base)
First to arrive will be the core and GT-Line models, with both rear- and all-wheel drive versions expected to be available. Kia Australia is likely to prioritise the long-range 77.4kWh battery pack (a smaller 58kWh unit is available globally), which offers around 520km and 505km respectively in RWD and AWD variations.
The 430kW EV6 GT won’t commence production until the latter stages of 2022, indicating a very late-2022 or early 2023 arrival in Australia. Kia says it’s aiming for 0-100 performance of 3.5 seconds and a targeted top speed of 260km/h.
Driving range for the performance variant is a targeted 405km on the WLTP combined cycle. The 77.4kWh battery is standard with the GT.
From a pricing perspective, pricing, Kia’s local arm is yet to confirm even indicative figures, however we do know the related Hyundai Ioniq 5 – which arrives this month – is launching from $71,900 for the 2WD and $75,900 in AWD guise, both with the 72.6kWh long-range battery. Additional variants will be introduced in future.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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