Kia Teases Its First Dedicated Battery Electric Car: Meet The EV6

Kia EV6
In the midst of transforming its brand identity, Kia shed a few more details on its upcoming electric car Tuesday. (Photos: Kia)

The Kia EV6 is the first on a new, dedicated EV platform.

Right now, buyers here in the U.S. have just one fully-electric Kia to buy (where you’re able to buy it, that is): the Niro EV. That’s about to change, though, as the Korean automaker teased the next-gen Kia EV6 as its first electric car on a dedicated platform. Specifically, the car will ride on the same E-GMP platform that also underpins the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5 crossover. Previously, Kia referred to the vehicle by the ‘CV’ codename, but it seems EV6 could be the model name moving forward.

From first glance, at least, the Kia EV6 looks to take on a rakish aesthetic to its more practical Hyundai counterpart. That said, both vehicles sport some cool-looking touches: The Ioniq 5 has pixelated taillights, for example. Here, Kia’s example gets a sort of pinched, sweeping front end (gotta get that Tiger Nose in there, right?), with a steeply raked windshield flowing back toward the rear spoiler and a back end that’s more or less vertical from the shoulder line down. Speaking of that rear end, the slim LED taillights are another interesting cue Kia’s integrated here.

No specs just yet, but…

In its official statement, all the automaker mentioned of the Kia EV6 is the platform. They’re mum on the other details, although we can infer some possibilities from the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Things like a battery pack up to 72.6-kWh, rear and all-wheel drive configurations, and an estimated range in the 200 to 300 mile range are all on the table. At any rate, I wouldn’t expect the EV6 to perform worse than the current Niro EV, which manages 239 miles on a single charge. Because of the platform change, though, Kia’s next-gen EV should be notably quicker. Hyundai, for its part, pegged the most potent Ioniq 5 at about 5.2 seconds in the 0-60 sprint.

So far as the “EV6” name is concerned, expect that sort of scheme to translate across the brand’s EV range. Kia says, “As part of the company’s brand transition, Kia’s new dedicated battery electric vehicles will be named according to a new naming strategy. The new approach brings simplicity and consistency to Kia’s EV nomenclature across all global markets. All of Kia’s new dedicated EVs will start with the prefix ‘EV’ which makes it easy for consumers to understand which of kia’s products are fully electric.” Take that for what you will, but that’s strategy we’ve seen play out in recent reveals, from the K5 sedan to the Carnival MPV. As we’re looking at the EV ‘6’, it’s likely we’ll see more cars fall on either end of the spectrum from this one when it launches.

As for when the Kia EV6 will debut, expect more details within the next few weeks.