The Kia EV6 is likely to be in greater supply from the new year, with the brand’s local division indicating it’s expecting “over 100 per month” in 2023 – or at least 1200 units for next year.
Following confirmation that local allocation for this year had increased to 700 units – up from the 500 vehicles initially forecast when the EV6 launched in February – a Kia Australia spokesperson told CarExpert the local arm is “anticipating supply to ramp up next year”.
Should Kia Australia be able to offer “over 100” EV6 units per month, it almost triples the original allocation figure of 500 vehicles, and could double 2022’s calendar year run of 700 vehicles.
It also means wait times for consumers could drop significantly, given it’s about a 12-month wait if you order today.
Back in January Kia Australia’s chief operating officer, Damien Meredith, said he believed the EV6 was capable of returning 3000 sales annually “quite easily” if supply constraints weren’t an issue. That volume would make the all-electric Kia one of Australia’s most popular EVs.
EV6 GT-Line
Kia’s executive team confirmed at the start of the year the EV6 had garnered more than 25,000 expressions of interest, while dealers had already taken around 1800 orders by January 2022, a month before the EV6 officially went on sale in Australia.
Given the record consumer interest and overflowing pre-launch order books, Kia Australia says it’s in “constant dialogue” with its global parent.
“If we can get another 100 and get to 600, we’d be doing exceptionally well,” Mr Meredith said in January – guess the company’s local division is doing better than exceptionally at this point.
EV market share hit a new high in Australia of 4.4 per cent last month, and that trend is likely to continue in September’s results set to be announced later this week, given the anticipated BYD Atto 3 and updated MG ZS EV officially went on sale in the past month.
EV6 GT prototype
Year-to-date, Tesla has accounted for 8054 of a total 14,524 EV registrations across Australia, led by the Model 3 (7037 units) and the recently launched Model Y (1017 units).
Kia had managed 426 registrations of the EV6 to the end of August, ahead of the related Hyundai Ioniq 5 (418 units). Both Korean EVs are behind the premium Mercedes-Benz EQA (489 units).
In early 2023, Kia Australia plans to bolster the EV6 line-up with the EV6 GT performance flagship, complete with a 430kW/700Nm dual-motor drivetrain good for a claimed 0-100 time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 260km/h.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest
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