Kia EV9 Flagship Electric SUV Debuts As Concept: See The Livestream

The South Korean electric onslaught continues as after seeing the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60 earlier this year, two additional models will be revealed soon. Bear in mind we’re dealing with concept cars, but both the SEVEN and EV9 will morph into production vehicles. The former will take the shape of the Ioniq 7 in 2024 following the concept’s premiere on November 17, while the EV9 debuting imminently is likely not far behind.

Kia has been coy on details regarding the concept car, although it did reveal a silhouette of a boxy SUV that has made some people think the EV9 will simply be a zero-emissions adaptation of the Telluride. However, that won’t be the case because EV-badged models will be vehicles built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform, which the Telluride isn’t.

Therefore, the Kia EV9 is likely to ride on the same E-GMP architecture that has underpinned the three electric crossovers we mentioned in the beginning. Given the jump in number from EV6 to EV9, that should be reflected in the vehicle’s size, thus strongly suggesting it will be a three-row SUV. As a refresher, the EV6 seats five people and is 4,695 millimeters (184.8 inches) long, 1,880 mm (74 in) wide, and 1,550 mm (61 in) tall, with a wheelbase measuring a Telluride-matching 2,900 mm (114.2 in) or the same as the GV60’s.

The Ioniq 5 is already longer between the axles – at 3,000 mm (118.1 in) – so there are enough reasons to believe both the SEVEN and EV9 will be impressively spacious inside since logic tells us they’ll be even bigger. An all-wheel-drive system courtesy of dual motors is a given considering both Hyundai and Kia models will be quite heavy since the Ioniq 5 and EV6 are already above two metric tons (4,409 pounds) in AWD form.

In terms of output, the E-GMP is already good for a healthy 577 horsepower and 546 pound-feet (740 Newton-meters) of torque in the case of the EV6 GT, which sprints to 62 mph (100 km/h) in three and a half seconds before maxing out at 162 mph (261 km/h). As for the battery, the largest pack available for EVs riding on this architecture has a capacity of 77.4 kWh, but that could be bumped to offset the increased weight of the Ioniq 7 and EV9.

These are all (hopefully) logical assumptions, but it’s better to wait for the concept to break cover to learn about the technical details and discover the styling inside and out. It will be interesting to see whether Kia will announce when the road-going equivalent will be launched and how much of the specs will be carried over.