Kia to launch all-electric EV9 SUV in S. Korea this week

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Sunday it will launch its all-electric EV9 flagship SUV in the domestic market this week as part of its electrification efforts.

The three-row seater is Kia's second model equipped with Hyundai Motor Group's dedicated electric vehicle platform, called E-GMP, after the EV6 SUV launched in 2021.

The two-wheel-drive EV9 comes with a 99.8 kilowatt-hour battery and can travel 501 kilometers on a single charge. An all-wheel-drive model is also available, the company said in a statement.

The model -- set to be launched Monday -- is priced at 73 million won-82 million won ($57,000-$64,000), depending on options.

Kia plans to gradually launch the EV9 in Europe, the United States and other markets in the second half.

Kia plans to produce about 100,000 units a year of the new model at the Kia Autoland Gwangmyeong plant, just south of Seoul, for global sales.

The maker of K5 sedans and Sorento SUVs aims to sell 1 million EVs in 2026 and gradually fill its EV lineup with 15 models by 2027.

The company plans to add the EV9 GT-line and the performance EV9 GT models to beef up its EV lineup in the third quarter. The GT-line model adopts the design of the performance GT model to meet diverse customer demands.

It will introduce Level 3 autonomous driving technology through the Highway Driving Pilot program in the GT-line model.

A Level 3 car allows lane changes and other autonomous driving functions to work without intervention by the driver. At Level 4, a vehicle can drive itself under limited conditions and will not operate if all required conditions are not satisfied. At Level 5, a vehicle's automated driving features can drive under any conditions.

The EV9 has been developed under Kia's new design philosophy, "Opposites United," which embodies its shifting focus toward electrification.

It comes with a sleek and bold exterior design, and its flat-floor EV architecture offers an interior space with third-row seating and enhanced comfort.

The Kia Connect Store enables customers to keep their EV9 constantly updated by upgrading the SUV's digital features and services without taking the vehicle to a dealership, it said.

With the swivel seat option, the second-row seats swivel 180 degrees to allow conversations with passengers in the third row.

It also boasts numerous safety features, such as blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, navigation-based smart cruise control and parking collision-avoidance assist systems.

This year the company set a sales goal of 3.2 million units, higher than the 2.9 million units it sold last year. (Yonhap)