The Kia EV9 GT is on the way to give the electric SUV a performance upgrade. During the standard model's launch in Europe, the brand confirms that the GT grade "is just around the corner, continuing the brand's sporty image after the EV6 GT."
Kia President and CEO Ho Sung Song announced that the EV9 GT was coming during an interview in March. He said the launch would be in early 2025. Beyond having an electric motor powering each axle, there are no specific powertrain details available yet.
Gallery: 2024 Kia EV9 in US specification
While we don't yet have any specs for the EV9 GT, we can use the EV6 GT as a rough guide to understand the upgrades that could happen over the regular EV9. The all-wheel-drive version of the standard EV6 makes 320 hp and 446 lb-ft. The GT pushes the output to 576 hp and 545 lb-ft.
Gallery: 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line in US specification
The standard EV9 will arrive in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2023. In early 2024, Kia will begin building it in West Point, Georgia. The three-row SUV will come standard with a 215-horsepower motor powering the rear wheels and will have a 76.1-kilowatt-hour battery. There will also be a 99.8-kWh pack that will be available either with a single 201-hp motor or an all-wheel-drive configuration with 379 hp and 516 pound-feet.
Kia estimates the rear-drive version with the larger pack can go 300 miles on a charge. The company isn't yet providing any other range projections.
When plugged in, the EV9 supports DC fast charging as high as 230 kilowatts. This allows for going from 10 to 80 percent state of charge in under 25 minutes. There's an 11-kW onboard unit for Level 2 charging.
No prices or trim details are available about the EV9 in the US, yet. Those details will come closer to the vehicle's launch.
In other markets, the EV9 is available with second-row captain's chairs that can swivel 180 degrees so that occupants can be face-to-face with the folks in the third row. However, this feature won't be available in the United States because it won't comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Take a tour of the Kia EV9 with InsideEVs:
