Cut-price $40K compact electric SUV odds-on for Australia in 2023, along with another next-gen electric vehicle
If the two-year wait for the highly-lauded Kia EV6 is giving you heart-burn, an unexpected antacid is on its way to soothe the pain.
Kia executives have confirmed they expect to launch two next-generation EVs in Australia in 2023, and a circa-$40,000 compact electric SUV is the front-runner.
Kia Australia’s product planning boss, who decides which cars come into Australian dealerships and how they will be equipped, reiterated the brand’s mid-term plan “…for seven new EVs in total…” based on the Korean car-maker’s new E-GMP platform that currently underpins the Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 5.
“We are negotiating strongly to bring as many of them to our shores as quickly as possible. If we’re lucky enough there could be another couple next year,” he stated.
Kia Sonet
The Kia product chief wouldn’t be drawn on which two battery-powered models are being loaded into the barrel, but we understand a compact SUV is almost certain to be one of them.
“We have got a model code that actually doesn’t have a marketing code yet, so at this stage… we’ll announce it the moment it’s actually been confirmed,” said Rivero.
Even if Kia’s next EV isn’t sharply priced to rival incoming circa-$40,000 Chinese EVs, it’s likely to sell out just as quickly as the Kia EV6. Details are scarce but up-spec versions of the small EV could be packing a 58kWh battery pack that’s also offered in the IONIQ 5 and EV6 overseas.
Entry-level models can be expected to be paired with a more modest Nissan LEAF-like 40kWh battery pack offering a range of around 270km.
Kia EV9 concept
Kia Australia chief operating officer, Damien Meredith, explained that customer demand for mainstream EVs in Australia has grown exponentially in the last couple of years, and that it was pursuing as many new electric cars as it could get.
“We may get oversubscribed to the next EV that comes, that’s possible,” said Meredith.
“But we’ve got to get our fair share of what’s being developed. That’s important to us. It’s great for the consumer and I think it’s good for Australia.”
Kia executives previously told carsales they were closely monitoring several cheap Chinese EVs headed to Australia over the next 12 months from brands like BYD and Ora, and also implied Kia was working on its own affordable EV.
Kia Futuron concept
The second EV that Kia Australia may be pushing for in 2023 could be the Kia EV9, a large three-row family SUV that will butt heads with the likes of the Toyota Prado, albeit without any exhaust emissions.
The scalable E-GMP platform, which features Porsche-rivalling 350kW ultra-fast charging capability, is setting Kia up for major assault on the EV marketplace this decade.
The fast-growing South Korean auto brand has made no secret of its ‘Plan S’ EV product strategy, which calls for seven new-generation electric vehicles in showrooms by 2027.
The latest comments from Kia executives suggest the product rollout could happen more rapidly than anticipated.
Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at [email protected]
Keyword: Kia Australia plotting two all-new EVs next year