The Kia EV9 large electric SUV is set to arrive this year, and the company says it’s already attracting new customers to the brand despite pricing potentially entering the six-digit range.
When asked at a recent media event whether the EV9 will be under the threshold for the Luxury Car Tax (LCT), which is currently $89,332 for “fuel efficient vehicles”, Kia Australia product planning general manager Roland Rivero responded with a clear no.
It’s unclear if Mr Rivero was suggesting there will only be certain EV9 variants above the LCT threshold, or if the entire range will be above this threshold.
Regardless, the Kia EV9 is the largest electric vehicle (EV) the company has offered to date and it’s naturally expected to cost more than the smaller EV6 crossover.
The EV6 currently starts at $72,590 before on-roads for the Air, and extends to $99,590 before on-roads for the GT.
It also wouldn’t be surprising if certain variants of the EV9 dethrone the EV6 GT as the most expensive Kia model to date, which means the price could head into six-figure territory.
The EV9 will arrive in Australia in the fourth quarter of this year.
Kia Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith told CarExpert that supply of the EV9 will “be better than it was for the EV6 in the first year”.
“Our expectation is somewhere towards 100 a month,” said Mr Meredith. This indicates Kia Australia is hoping to secure around 1200 units of the EV9 annually.
Mr Meredith added that there are already 50 examples of the EV9 sold throughout the Kia Australia dealer network. The company is also nearing 5000 expressions of interest for the large three-row electric SUV.
“The desire in our market for a big [electric] SUV is extremely strong, and the kind of interest we’re getting from the types of suburbs and postcodes are very new to Kia,” said Mr Rivero.
Kia Australia marketing general manager Dean Norbiato told CarExpert the Hills District on the northern part of Greater Western Sydney is currently the number-one source of interest for the EV9 in New South Wales, followed by the Northern Beaches and the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
As previously reported, the Kia EV9 will be available with a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive, offer up to 541km of range, and in some markets come with Level 3 autonomous driving technology.
To read a full deep-dive into Kia’s upcoming electric three-row SUV, click here.
MORE: Everything Kia EV9
