At last year’s LA Auto Show, we saw a concept for a three-row, Telluride-sized, electric crossover from Kia. Called the Concept EV9, it was the company’s tease of what is to come.
What is to come, exactly? Well, it’s the production EV9. And Kia was recently just caught out testing the new crossover. Our spy photographers caught a glimpse of it as it’s driving around Germany.
While still wearing a ton of camouflage, the EV9 is still obviously heavily influenced by the concept. It retains the boxy shape of the E-GMP based concept, and has the stacked lights and clamshell hood of the concept.
It does have normal rear doors, because rear opening doors are not the most practical in practice, and the full glass roof has been replaced with a more traditional metal roof.
This test model also appears to have real mirrors, which might actually be an indication that this is a test mule for the version that is destined for North American markets. Cars in Europe can have digital, camera-based rearview mirrors, like in the Hyundai Ioniq 6 that just debuted, but our laws here prevent that.
The Concept EV9 is said to have 300 miles of range, though the production variant might be less. It’s about Kia Telluride in size, so there should be enough room for a third row. Plus, that before mentioned E-GMP platform can be stretched to accommodate longer vehicles and more battery packs.
We do believe the battery pack in the EV9 will be larger than that in the EV6, since Kia is claiming up to 30 minutes of charging time to get the Concept EV9 from 10% to 80% state of charge. That normally takes 18 minutes with the current car on the market.
The Kia EV9 should go on sale next year as a 2024 car, with a North American debut likely around the time of the LA Auto Show.
