Kia EV6 electric crossover is heading to South Africa
Johannesburg: South Africa’s electric car market is slowly but surely expanding, with many premium carmakers launching products this year. Soon, the Koreans will be in on the action too.
In a recent communication about the EV6 GT that was launched at Monterey Car Week, Kia South Africa revealed that the EV6 electric crossover was under consideration for South Africa, although no local launch date had been set. The importer said the vehicle would initially be launched in small numbers.
“We sense a healthy appetite not only for electric vehicles as a whole in South Africa, but also for the EV6 specifically,” said Kia SA CEO Gary Scott. “We are mindful that we must bring in products to cement Kia’s EV leadership position in the local motorist’s mind, but it will not make that impact as a niche passion project. People must not only desire the product, it must also be attainable.”
Scott reiterated that while Kia was moving upmarket, it didn’t intend to become a luxury brand but, rather, an alternative to luxury brands. Thus the company would not abandon its value-based positioning in the country.
“We will look to launch EV6 in limited volumes, and to introduce further models that will establish a more diverse powertrain offering across varying segments for private, commercial and fleet use,” he added.
Does that mean that the long-rumoured Hilux-rivalling bakkie is finally on the way? We certainly hope so.
Kia has not confirmed which versions of the EV6 are under consideration for our market, but the vehicle is available with a wide variety of powertrains in various overseas markets.
These kick off with a single-motor, rear-wheel drive model that offers 168kW and 350Nm, as well as a claimed range of 528km. There’s also a dual-motor all-wheel drive variant that offers 239kW, 605Nm and a driving range of 484km.
The EV6 GT takes things to a whole new level of performance, pairing a 160kW front-mounted motor with a 270kW rear motor to produce combined outputs of 430kW and 740Nm. Kia claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 258km/h.
The EV6 GT rides on 21-inch wheels and has a bespoke sports suspension system with electronically controlled dampers and an electronic limited slip differential. This model also offers a rear-wheel drive Drift Mode that allows drivers to get playful.
The Kia EV6 is also at the cutting edge of charging technology, with an 800V electrical architecture that allows the battery to be charged to 80% in less than 19 minutes at 350kW fast-charging stations.
The vehicle also boasts Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality that can power tools and appliances for camping or DIY projects. That will certainly come in handy when load shedding hits.