To date, Kia's Autoland Gwangmyeong assembly plant was tasked with producing the largest electric vehicle in the South Korean automaker's lineup. Following millions of dollars of investments into the West Point assembly plant in Georgia, the EV9 is now made in the US for the American market.
Although the first example of the breed has already rolled off the assembly line, Kia America still hasn't updated the configurator of the EV9 with the much anticipated $7,500 federal tax credit. Be that as it may, prospective customers who lease the family-sized EV are eligible for a $7,500 lease bonus.
The first EV9 produced in the United States was introduced by Kia America chief executive officer and Kia North America president SeungKyu Yoon. It was driven off the assembly line by Governor Brian Kemp with Kia Georgia vice president of production James Watson in the passenger seat.
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia started production vehicles for the American market in November 2009, beginning with the Sorento. The Sorento moved 88,625 units in the US last year, putting it behind the Telluride (110,765 deliveries), Forte (123,953), and the Sportage (1470,780).
The Korean-built EV9, meanwhile, racked 1,118 sales last year and 4,007 sales in the first quarter of 2024. While said volumes may not be impressive by Tesla Model Y standards, bear in mind that it's a much larger vehicle that costs a bit more as well.
Photo: Kia
$54,900 makes it a hard sell for a Kia, but looking at the bigger picture, this fellow makes plenty of sense. Not only does it serve as the zero-emission sibling of the Telluride, but with seating for seven adults, EV9 joins a very select club of three-row electric sport utility vehicles. Not long now, said club will welcome Hyundai's take on the EV9.
Five distinct configurations of the 2024 Kia EV9 are currently available to order, beginning with the Light RWD at $54,900 from the outset. Said configuration should be avoided, for it offers merely 230 miles (370 kilometers) of driving range on a full charge of the battery. The one to consider is the Light Long Range RWD, whose larger high-voltage battery promises 304 miles (489 kilometers).
The only real downside to the Light Long Range RWD is the second-row captain's chairs, resulting in six rather than seven seats. This version further sweetens the deal with a HomeLink garage opener, and prices kick off at $59,200 as of May 2024.
The all-wheel-drive lineup comprises the Wind, Land, and GT-Line models, which are good for either 280 or 270 miles (451 or 435 kilometers). A performance-oriented model dubbed GT is due in early 2025, which means that American customers might get it in the summer of 2025 for MY2026. Considering that GT-Line AWD is $73,900 at press time, the GT AWD could very well crack into the $80,000s range.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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