New Delhi, India

Kia India has made a bold statement in the luxury electric vehicle market with the debut of the EV9 e-MPV at a whopping price point of INR 1.3 crore (ex-showroom) for the GT Line variant. Based on the e-GMP platform, EV9 is the second electric offering from the Korean carmaker in the country, after EV6 which was launched in June 2022. Just like the latter, EV9 will be available in India via the Completely Built-Up or CBU mode. The model will be available at select 20 Kia dealerships in top 10 Indian cities for test drives to offer customers the look and feel of the brand's EV prowess. 

Advertisment

When asked about the possibility of manufacturing the EV9 locally in the future, the company's Chief Sales Officer, Jonnsu Cho, said, "The current demand for EV9 in the market is too small a number to set up manufacturing for it in the country. Right now, we are not looking at the number of sales units for this model. EV9 is more of a way to showcase our EV capabilities in India."

Kia has been following a top-down strategy in the country when its comes to its vehicle offerings, said Hardeep Singh Brar, Sr. Vice President & Head of Marketing & Sales at Kia India. Just like Sonet followed Seltos in the SUV space; and Carens followed Carnival in the MPV segment, Kia's electric portfolio will follow the same approach, Brar explained. "After launching EV6 and now EV9, we will soon add mass-market electric vehicles to our portfolio," he said.

The company is slated to launch two new models in the mass electric vehicle space, starting in the second half of 2025 and then in 2026. Both these models will be locally manufactured at Kia's India facilities. In order to facilitate adoption of electric vehicles, the company is installing charging infrastructure at its touchpoints and is looking to add 100+ new dealerships by the end of 2024. 

Advertisment

Speaking about the global slowdown in the EV market, Jonnsu Cho said that for electric vehicles to mature as a mass market product, it will require a combination of efforts from the government, the manufacturers and consumer awareness and willingness to adapt EVs.