Smaller battery set for more affordable Kia EV6 … eventually

Kia has homologated the smaller battery pack for its EV6 in Australia – but the earliest it is likely to arrive here would be 2023.

Kia Australia says it will only bring the 58kWh battery pack Down Under if the company can secure more supply than the 500 cars head office in Korea has committed to us in 2022.

For now, all three EV6 variants sold in Australia have the larger 77.4kWh battery that provides up to 528km of WLTP range.

Speaking at the Australian launch of the new electric SUV that Kia describes as its new halo model – effectively stepping into the role of the Stinger performance sedan – COO Damien Meredith said the shorter range EV6 was ready for an Australian launch but that it would depend on supply.

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“It’s homologated [for sale in Australia], but I’m just not sure,” said Meredith, citing a lack of supply as the sticking point.

Currently the EV6 is offered as a $67,990 plus on-road costs Air or a more lavishly-equipped GT-Line as a single motor rear-wheel drive ($74,990 plus on-roads) or dual-motor all-wheel drive ($82,990 plus on-roads). Click here for full details on Kia EV6 pricing.

Kia is currently holding about 25,000 expressions of interest and believes it could easily sell 3000 EV6s in a year – even with a starting price that makes it the most expensive car Kia has ever sold here.

While the Air entry price is more affordable than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 with which the EV6 shares its E-GMP architecture, the GT-Line models are more expensive.

But head office has only committed to supplying 500 EV6s to Australia in 2022, leaving a major shortage that is set to disappoint some who have queued up.

But Meredith says if the company could get hold of additional supply by accepting the smaller battery he’d be open to it.

“If we could get additional stock because of it … let’s go,” he said.

If the smaller battery EV6 did make its way to Australia there’s every chance the price would sneak below $60,000, popping it in the Tesla Model 3 sweet spot that has already to yielded significant sales volumes.

Crucially, that circa-$60K price point would make it more appealing for those looking to benefit from the EV rebates and discounts offered by various states and territories in Australia.

A more affordable EV6 isn’t the only imminent addition to the Kia EV family. By the end of 2022 Kia says it will start receiving the high performance GT versions.

The EV6 GT gets supercar levels of power and can accelerate to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds.