2023 Kia EV9 spied – Australia "waiting for green light"

The 2023 Kia EV9 upper-large SUV has been spied in its native Korea, with Australian bosses saying they're keen for the model to come here in future.

New spy photos posted by The Korean Car Blog show the upcoming electric vehicle’s exterior wrapped in camouflage and heavily cloaked, as well as its disguised cabin.

According to Kia Australia’s General Manager for Product Planning, Roland Rivero, the firm hopes to launch at least two additional EVs in 2023 in two completely different segments, and the local arm “has [its] hand up for EV9”.

“In the absence of Telluride, and I know there’s a lot of opinion on the lack of bringing that model to Australia, we think EV9 has got a lot of potential here,” he told Wheels.

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“You look at that upper-large category – which is only a two horse race between the Toyota LandCruiser and the Nissan Patrol – with the average price there being around $96k and it tells us Australians aren’t afraid of a $90k upper-large SUV. There’s an opportunity there – we just need HQ to give us the green light."

Next year the EV9 will be making its debut in right-hand-drive, with plans to launch in Europe recently confirmed.

With the battery-powered SUV set to go on sale in the UK, it’s a good sign Australia will also get a right-hand-drive version of the vehicle.

“The Kia Concept EV9 is another important marker for us in what has been an incredible journey so far for the new Kia brand,” Kia’s design boss Karim Habib previously said.

“Having made our intentions clear – to become a global leader in sustainable mobility solutions – we have had to carefully assess how the near- to medium-term future will impact every type of vehicle and model. This includes the SUV.”

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The EV9 has yet to be officially confirmed for Australia – but given the overwhelming success of the EV6 and Rivero’s latest comments, there’s every chance it will come here in the relatively near future.

Speaking on Friday as specification details were released for the new-generation Niro EV and hybrid, Kia Australia’s top boss, Damien Meredith, said the recent introduction of the EV6 “is proving to be more popular than [Kia] could have ever imagined” – another indicator more electric models will soon be heading our way.

While originally referred to as the EV7, the EV9 is set to become Kia’s flagship model, coming in at around 5000 millimetres long – making it roughly on par with the LandCruiser 300 Series and LandCruiser Prado.

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It’s thought the seven-seater EV9 will be on par with the Kia Carnival people-mover, but with more legroom available for third-row passengers thanks to its battery-powered E-GMP platform – which allows for a flat cabin floor.

Occupants can also expect an ultra-wide display akin to that found in the EV6.

As well as over-the-air software updates (OTA), the EV9 will reportedly offer Level 3 autonomous driving technology, known as Highway Driving Pilot (HDP).

Details of the electric powertrain aren’t known at this stage, but the driving range is said to remain at under 500 kilometres, likely matching the 482km claimed for the EV9 Concept.