The ongoing chip shortage is putting a strain on the new-vehicle market. Dealerships around the country are reporting limited inventories, and those lucky enough to take delivery of fresh nameplates are asking too much of consumers eager to get into their new vehicles.
We've reported on a number of dealerships marking up high-demand cars as of late. The Ford Bronco and Mustang Mach-E commonly see huge price hikes when they reach the showroom, as does the Mercedes-Benz EQS – and that's just to name a few.
Now, as the Kia EV6 makes its way to dealerships, the electric crossover is already seeing its own set of markups. One dealer in particular – McGrath Arlington Kia in Palatine, Illinois – has a new EV6 First Edition sitting in its showroom with a final asking price of $78,875. That's nearly $19,000 over the suggested MSRP for the First Edition model in question.
Auto journalist Anthony Fongaro spotted this EV6 on the showroom floor, snapped a picture, and posted the image to Facebook. In the photo, you can see a dealer market adjustment of $12,000 – for the First Edition model – a vague "interior protection pack" that costs $3,995, and a "pro pack" option that asks another $2,495.
We reached out to McGrath Arlington Kia and spoke to Sales Manager Chris Duplanchic who provided a deeper explanation as to the markup:
"Because of the limited inventory, these cars are somewhat irreplaceable… there is a premium on the vehicle, but when we put a premium on a vehicle, in this instance, we shop around at other Kia stores and make sure that the premium is competitive with other stores… and on top of that, it’s a First Edition car, it’s a limited production."
This EV6 First Edition is one of the few we could find that hadn’t been sold via initial pre-order (unless the dealership pre-ordered this car directly). The First Edition model is limited to just 1,500 examples for the 2022 model year, which is likely a big contributor to the markup, and unless you placed an order before the end of June 2021, all of those cars were quickly accounted for.
A Kia spokesperson had this to say when reached for comment: "Dealers are independent businesses, but we do ask them to price fairly and consider customer satisfaction throughout the purchase process."
