2022 Kia EV6

Kia EV6 electric crossover is heading to South Africa

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.

 
Kia EV6 Air 77.4kWh 2022 UK drive

Ride comfort is good, while pace from the rear-mounted motor is more than enough. As with a lot of these electric cars, the 0-62mph time doesn’t reflect how accessible the performance is. In 500 miles, I never once felt like I needed more power.

And that’s largely the same for the Air overall: less is more.


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Kia EV6 GT review: a budget alternative to the Taycan?

OK, that all sounds good. But who’s it actually for?


If our drive round France was anything to go by then the EV6 GT is absolutely hoovering up middle-aged Dutch drivers, but their EV market is a bit more mature than ours. The Dutch government is even drawing up plans for all company cars to be electric by 2025.

The key attraction is that bit up there about the Porsche Taycan – you get all the performance of Stuttgart’s finest, but with £40k off. What’s not to like? Whether you fancy ponying up the extra cash for a Taycan GTS will show you the value you place on handling, 60 miles of extra range and a prestigious badge.

If it was us, we'd be saving even more and spending £48k on the RWD GT-Line EV6 with a heat pump and sailing past both of those options, but that'd miss the point entirely.

 
The 2023 Kia EV6 Will Now Start at $49,795

Kia is dropping the base EV6 Light for 2023 resulting in a $7,100 price increase for the EV, and won't qualify for the $7,500 EV Tax Credit.

EVs are still expensive as hell, and there’s no relief in sight that they’ll be gettingcheaper anytime soon. Some of that has to do with automakers increasing pricing to account for inflation, parts shortages and rising material costs. The latest EV to price itself above what many can afford is the Kia EV6. While not exactly a cheap entry-level EV to begin with, the Korean automaker has done some shuffling, making the entry-level EV $7,100 more. Essentially you can’t get into an EV6 now for less than $50,000.

A couple of things played a part in this. First, Kia dropped the EV6 base Light trim for 2023. With destination, that price hovered around $43,990, including destination. That EV6 had also qualified for the tax credit, which put the entry-level model at a more affordable, swallowable price of $36,490. With the EV6 not qualifying for the tax credit provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act, and the loss of the base model, now we’re looking at a near $14,000 price increase.

 
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