Like most manufacturers, Kia is preparing to up the ante to gain a share of the electronic vehicle (EV) market and hopefully take some power away from Tesla, which continues to dominate as the top EV manufacturer in the US.
At the moment, Kia has two other EVs available, the Kia EV6 and the Kia Niro, both of which are crossover SUVs with battery ranges that max out at approximately 240 miles. Tesla still makes the most efficient EVs with the longest range, most maxing out at 350-400 miles, but that is not stopping Kia from making moves to dethrone Tesla and give the EV market some healthy competition. Details are still limited about the Kia EV9, but here is what we can say for sure.
8 The Car Is Still In The Concept Phase
Introduced in late 2021, The Kia EV9 is on track to be a 2024 model and will likely be released sometime in the 2023 fiscal year. There is virtually no information, especially not from Kia yet, about the most important specs of the car, like horsepower, transmission type, torque, and similar.
This is because the car is still in the concept car phase. No updates are available for when or if the car has reached prototype tests yet.
7 It Will Have An All-Digital Instrument Dash
Based on pictures and the official Kia website, we do know the interior of the EV9 will be incredibly modern and highly digitized. From the concept pictures, one can see an extensive instrument board that covers almost the entire dashboard, meaning it is safe to assume that the car’s instruments and gage clusters will be entirely digital.
6 Its Steering Wheel Is Similar To Tesla’s
Although the Tesla steering wheel and steering yoke receive mixed reviews, it seems the square design of them is catching on in other EVs, as we can see a similar style being implemented for the EV9.
The wheel will also be a fold-in and adjustable to the height of the driver—a feature that is also growing in popularity and practicality. It also leads one to wonder if Kia is aiming for later renditions of the car to be capable of autonomous driving, but that remains to be seen. Not even Tesla has gotten the design for autonomous cars figured out to the point they’d be practical introductions to the market.
5 It Will Have A Built-In Solar Panel
In a genius fit of design, the engineers at Kia are opting to incorporate solar panels into this EV's battery chargers. How the solar panel will charge the battery remains to be seen, but Kia could very well be on track to creating the first solar-powered EV consumer car.
That said, solar power is not always reliable as a source of energy by itself, and will undoubtedly need plug-in charges to supplement any power taken from the panels.
4 Buyers Will Have A Choice Between RWD And AWD
An edge that the Kia EV9 will have over many other cars will be its options. Although certain features and specs on the car are still limited, we do know that Kia plans to allow consumers a choice between all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive.
This means that more EV buyers will be able to choose between a car that endures for speed with the RWD option or one that is better for camping and off-road work with AWD. Front-wheel drive is unlikely to be an option.
3 It Will Most Likely Have A 300-Mile Battery Range
Tesla dominates the EV market for a few reasons, most notably because its cars have the farthest range of most EVs available. Although companies like Ford are catching up, neither of Kia’s current EVs come close to 300 miles in battery range.
Kia hopes to turn this around with the EV9, which the company claims will have a range upwards of 300 miles. If more EVs with a battery range surpassing 300 miles begin entering the market en masse as they seem poised to, Tesla is in deep trouble.
2 It Will Be Cheaper Than Most Teslas
Another edge the EV9 will have if all goes according to plan will be pricing. Teslas are holding the EV market, but as the economy continues to fumble, the company will start to have an affordability problem. Teslas can fetch well over $120,000 with options.
The Kia EV9 is aiming to be one of the most affordable EVs. Kia hopes to sell the EV9 at a starting price of $50,000. This would make Kia a formidable opponent and could even mean trouble for Ford, who has the claim to fame for having the most affordable EV crossover available right now—the Ford Mustang Mach E, which is priced for about the same amount.
1 It Will Come With Kia's Phenomenal Warranty
Lastly, one can safely assume that this Kia will have something all Kias do, the company's fantastic warranty. One of the things that keeps Kia a formidable presence on the market is its 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty, which is something almost no car manufacturer can match.
Considering the fact that EVs depreciate exponentially faster than most of their gas-powered counterparts, and the fact that the technology for EVs is still kind of risky (fires are still a huge problem for EV owners), an extensive and comprehensive warranty for an EV would be a major game-changer.