2022 Kia EV6: Australia allocated 500 cars

Australia will receive 500 examples of the 2022 Kia EV6 next year, but only two will be allocated to dealerships initially.

Kia confirmed the 500 electric vehicles earmarked for Australia will be staggered throughout the year, but a source familiar with the matter has told Wheels most Kia dealerships will get just two EV6 models to begin with – a demonstrator, and a vehicle to sell.

Of the 91 Kia dealerships across Australia, a handful have yet to be set up to both sell and service the EV6 – the Korean carmaker’s first dedicated electric car. It's estimated the first batch will comprise around 160 vehicles.

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While Australia has 500 examples of the EV6 earmarked in both base-level and GT-Line trims, a spokesperson for the company’s local arm suggested the number had the potential to increase, telling Wheels it was “of course in continuous dialogue with head office about this number”.

As with other models, Kia will sell the vehicle through its Australia-wide dealership network – a strategic difference between the EV6 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5. While the two vehicles are underpinned by the same battery-electric architecture, Hyundai Australia has opted to sell its allocation of 400 Ioniq 5s at a fixed price through its website.

Local pricing and specification has yet to be announced, but it’s expected Australian buyers will have a choice of a EV6 base model, or an EV6 GT-Line – with both variants available with either a 58kWh battery or a larger 77.4kWh battery, in either rear- or all-wheel drive. There are four power levels of between 125kW and 239kW available.

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A high-performance Kia EV6 GT is expected to become available in late 2022, producing 430kW and 740Nm – making it the most powerful model to ever come from the brand.

“Interest in the EV6 is unmatched, with the expressions of interest tally already exceeding all previous Kia models before it,” a Kia Australia spokesperson told Wheels.

“This level of interest in our first all-electric model is equally shared between existing and new Kia customers. EV6 will be tremendous for the Kia brand in Australia and we’re confident it will cement itself as a true halo model atop our product portfolio.”