The Korean carmaker, Kia India launched the EV6 at a starting price of INR 59.95 lakh, ex-showroom, India for the GT Line trim level while the GT Line AWD trim level has been priced at INR 64.95 lakh.
Available as a CBU units, the company initially planned to import only 100 units for the calendar year, but in view of the 355 bookings it received for the vehicle, the company plans to increase the number of deliveries for this year, Hardeep. S. Brar, Head- Marketing and Sales, Kia India, confirmed.
The EV will be available across 15 select dealerships in 12 cities PAN India. Speaking to Mobility Outlook Brar added that the company plans to install two to three 150kW charging stations across each of these 15 dealerships. Built on the company’s dedicated EV platform, the Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the Indian version of the EV packs in a 77.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, generating 229ps electric power in 2WD and 325ps in AWD variant.
The company claims for a claimed WLTP range of 528 kilometres on a single charge and a 0-100 kmph sprint time of 5.2 seconds. Brar added that the car has been tested for the Indian market and it now features an increased ground clearance over the global model.
Speaking of the exterior styling, Brar noted that the car has been designed across the company’s three global design studios including Namyang, Korea; Frankfurt, Germany and Irvine, USA. The vehicle follows the Kia’s its latest design language, ‘Opposite United’ and features Dual LED headlamps with Adaptive Driving Beam, Connected LED Tail Lamps with Sequential Indicators, auto door handles and 19 inch Crystal cut Alloy Wheels.
The car will be available with five exterior colour options including Moonscape, Snow White Pearl, Runway Red, Aurora Black Pearl, and Yacht Blue. On the inside with an all-black interior with black suede seat and vegan leather bolsters, it gets 12.3” Curved Touchscreen Navigation and Curved Driver Display along with an Augmented Reality (AR) head-up display.
Other notable tech take away from the interior include electric sunroof, Meridian Premium Sound System with 14 Speakers, Driver & Passenger Relaxation Seats, Remote folding seats, The Smart Power Tailgate and Smart Cruise Control (SCC). It also get the capabilities for V2V and V2L charging systems.
Moreover, the EV6 also boasts of few connected features including EV Remote Climate Control, EV Remote charging control and Surround View Monitoring. While on the safety front, it features 8 airbags as standard along with All Wheel Disc Brakes, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), Multi Collision Brake Assist (MCBA), Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Brake Assistant System (BAS), Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Front and Rear parking sensors and ISOFIX Child Anchor.
Additionally, it also gets Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features including Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA), Rear-cross Traffic Avoidance Assist (RCTA), Safe Exit Assist (SEA), Blind Spot Collision -Avoidance Assist (BCA), Lane Keep Assist (LKA) and Driver Attention warning (DAW). The EV6 comes with a standard warranty of three years and unlimited warranty while for the battery pack, the company offers a eight year warranty or 1.60 lakh kms warranty.
Kia Global And Indian EV Plan
Tae-Jin Park, MD and CEO, noted that the global aspirations of the company is to be a leader in sustainability by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality 2045. Additionally, it plans to introduce 14 BEVs by 2027 that will include vehicles for the mass market as well as premium vehicles. Alongside it also aims to sell 1.2 million BEVs annually by 2030, Park confirmed.
Moreover, Kia Motors plans to invest a total of $22.22 bn in the next five years, out of which some part will be directed towards developing the EV market in India along with localization of the vehicle type.
Park added that the company aims to bring its first India centric EV by 2025 which will feature a RV body style and that the EV6 will act as a study material for the company for the Indian EV market. Further, he added that a push from the government in terms of infrastructure will aid the acceleration of EV adoption in India.