In the past, and under a previous local distributor, Malaysia has been pretty laggard when it came to receiving the latest and greatest from Korean automaker Kia. However, the brand’s newest stewards in the country, Bermaz, are confirmed to be keen on bringing the EV6 to our shores in 2022.
As communicated to investors, Bermaz (through subsidiary Dinamikjaya Motors) is planning to introduce the fully electric Kia in either Q3 or Q4 of 2022, placing it in a very favourable climate to take advantage of the numerous proposed tax breaks and incentives to spur EV adoption in the country, which should carry on until the end of 2023.
As a refresher, the EV6 is the first Kia to be built on the Hyundai Motor Group’s shared E-GMP electric vehicle platform and is the second production model after the Hyundai IONIQ 5 to feature those underpinnings. Unofficially, it could be seen as the brand’s new flagship, being the most technologically advanced car from the brand to date.
Add to that is the fact that it will be the fastest and most ferociously accelerative Kia ever seen, not just in Malaysia. Given its spread of powertrain options, the most powerful configuration is the GT-Line’s 77.4kWh battery supplying charge to dual electric motors for a combined output of 580PS and 740Nm. This enables the EV6 to surge up to 100km/h from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 260km/h. That's Porsche Taycan 4S levels of quick.
This range-topper variant manages a claimed range of 424km, though Kia does offer a less powerful but more endurance-focused rear-drive (single motor) configuration that can go as far as 528km on a single charge.
The EV6 is styled rather sportily with an almost continuous wedge shape profile, sensuous curves, and a striking set of alloy wheels – the complete opposite of the IONIQ 5, basically. That said, Kia classifies it as a crossover given its tall-ish overall stature and somewhat elevated ride height.
Inside, it’s about as high tech as we’ve ever seen from Kia with a cabin that’s subtly chic and minimal with control surfaces reduced to a handful of touch-activated buttons while the rest of the inputs will be made via its curved central touchscreen (plus instrument cluster combo) and voice activation.
It’ll be interesting to see how the EV6 will fit into the Malaysian automotive landscape, especially given the leg-up in pricing. It will be one of the first mainstream fully electric vehicles to be offered here in an official capacity, joining the Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Kona Electric at one end of the spectrum and at the other, cars like the Porsche Taycan as well as the BMW iX.
Of course, we expect more automakers to announce plans for local EV launches throughout 2022, but Kia’s EV6 is certainly a good start. Perhaps it’ll spur Hyundai Sime-Darby Motors to make some moves to introduce that IONIQ 5 we’ve been hearing so much about.
Keyword: Kia’s EV6 Fully Electric Crossover Coming To Malaysia In H2 2022