2023 Kia EV9: Kia’s LandCruiser rival firms for Australia

Kia’s all-electric challenger for the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series and Y62 Nissan Patrol, the 2023 Kia EV9, could launch in Australia as soon as the second half of next year.

Revealed in concept form at the 2021 Los Angeles auto show, the boxy full-size SUV has been on Kia Australia’s wish list ever since.

It is one of 14 EVs Kia plans to release by 2027 and the Australian subsidiary is after all of them.

Until now, however, local execs have stopped short of forecasting a launch date for the EV9, which is still yet to be seen in undisguised production form.

The EV9’s local arrival is good news after the left-hand-drive-only Kia Telluride SUV was ruled out for Australia.

Production of the three-row EV9 SUV is expected to start in Korea around April 2023 and Kia Australia is hoping to see it within months of that.

Right-hand drive production for the UK has already been confirmed.

“We have got our hand up for what you have already seen as the EV9 concept, a nice Telluride-sized upper-large SUV,” said Kia Australia product planning chief Roland Rivero.

“Via footprint alone it falls into upper-large together with LandCruiser and Patrol.

“We’d love to bring that into the country … and it’s looking possible for 2023. More likely the second half of 2023.”

Separately, Kia Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith was more conservative in his EV9 on-sale estimates, citing global production and delivery issues created by the pandemic.

“Probably not 2023, 2024 would be more likely,” he said. “It gets back to the volatility with what is happening globally with supply chains.

“Our product planning schedule is changing rapidly.”

While it is categorised as a LandCruiser and Patrol rival, the EV9 is a very different technical package compared to the turbo-diesel V6 Toyota and petrol V8 Nissan.

A close relation of the Hyundai IONIQ 7 and the second Kia to be based on the Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP modular architecture after the sell-out Kia EV6, the concept EV9 measures up almost as long as the LandCruiser at 4930mm.

It is also 2055m wide, 1790mm tall and has a 3100mm wheelbase.

Kia hasn’t talked about EV9 performance numbers, but if the EV6 is any guide it will have dual motors to deliver its all-wheel drive capability and up to 430kW.

Kia says the EV9 concept has a 480km range, but doesn’t specify the size of battery or the drivetrain involved in producing that.

A sub-$100,000 starting point for the production EV9 in Australia has been speculated previously, but given the rate at which new vehicle prices are rising in Australia – and EVs particularly – that might be a challenge in another 12 months or more.

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