2024 Kia EV9: Seven Seats, 300 Miles, Soon To Be Made In Georgia

It’s officially official. Here are all the details on Kia’s seven-passenger EV.

Kia has teased, either via concept or official spy shot, the details about its seven-passenger EV; the EV9. Now, it’s here in all of its glory, it has made its official North American production debut at the 2023 New York International Auto Show. Soon, it’ll be rolling right into US and Canadian dealerships.

The EV9 is more than just a big EV SUV, which is a pretty important milestone in its own right. It’s part of Kia’s Plan S strategy, and the vehicle will act as the flagship for the entire lineup. “With the launch of the EV9, we are incorporating our experience in producing brilliantly designed, best-in-class SUVs with our deep expertise in developing the industry’s leading EVs,” said Sean Yoon, president, and CEO, of Kia North America. So, Kia put the expertise that it learned by building EVs like the Niro EV and EV6, into the EV9. The brand focused on important things like interior room, cargo, fast charging speeds, and even towing capability.

Sizewise, the EV9 is a little longer than the Telluride – 197.4 inches long. With all three rows seats up, the EV9’s 20.1 cubic feet, or about the same as you’d get in the Telluride. Although, with all three rows folded, the EV9 doesn’t quite offer as much room. The EV9 still manages to fit seven whole seats in its boxy body, without a headroom-compromising roofline found on other big EV crossovers like the Tesla Model X. Kia says that each seat in the EV9 is considered executive class, with the second row offering goodies like power operated seats with footrests.

We’ve seen the EV9 before. Over the last few weeks, the brand has slowly let images out of the boxy crossover. With its official North American debut, nothing has changed from what Kia showed off in South Korean photos. The E-GMP platform allows for a long wheelbase with very short overhangs. Kia says it has reinterpreted its Tiger Nose design for the EV9, now called Tiger Face for its interpretation here. Overall, the EV9 is a blocky, chiseled design that looks a lot like the Telluride but punched way up to the max.

Like other E-GMP platform cars, the EV9 has multiple battery and motor options. The standard range EV9 will come with a 76.1 kWh battery, sending energy to a single, rear-mounted motor worth 215 horsepower turning the rear wheels. An optional 99.8 kWh battery will give the EV9 more range; Kia promises around 300 miles (not yet officially confirmed) worth in single motor form. For those in search of more power or all-weather traction, Kia will offer a dual-motor AWD setup with 379 horsepower and 516 ft-lbs of torque. The AWD system is torque vectoring, too.

The EV9 has the same 800v architecture as the EV6, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, so ultra-fast DC fast charging will be in this electric crossover’s domain. Also, it can tow up to 5,000 lbs, depending on trim. Other niceties like over-the-air (OTA) updates, digital key, and advanced ADAS systems will all be available on the EV9.

The EV9 will officially go on sale in the fall of 2023. Interestingly, the brand is aiming for North American production (West Point, GA) to start in 2024.

Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here