The brand says luxury car buyers are putting their names down on the fast-growing waiting list for the radical new EV.
The EV9, which is expected to cost about $100,000, is arguably the most exciting of a multi-pronged electrified attack.
The seven-seater, which is expected to be classified as an “upper large SUV” competing with the likes of the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol, could take on rivals as diverse as the Mazda CX-90, Toyota Kluger, BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE.
While it will have a luxury price tag, the EV9 will promise the lower cost of ownership benefits typical of an electric vehicle.
That could potentially making its total cost of ownership similar to more affordable petrol- or diesel-powered alternatives.
It also has the advantage of being the largest electric SUV on the market, for now at least.
Some Kia dealers have already taken orders and Kia says it is holding 5000 expressions of interest.
Many prospective owners will be disappointed, though as the company is expecting supply to be limited to only 1200-1300 examples in its first year on sale.
“I don’t think we know how well this car is going to go,” says Kia Australia product planning manager Roland Rivero.
“The amount of interest is surprising … the desire for our market for a big SUV is extremely strong.”
Rivero says it’s not traditional value-focused buyers who are showing an interest in the EV9.
“The kind of interest we’re getting from the types of suburbs and postcodes are very new to Kia.”
Kia Australia marketing chief Dean Norbiato believes the EV9 will help change perceptions of the brand.
“The EV6 did a phenomenal job from a halo standpoint, this thing is going to be even bigger,” he says.
But the EV9 is only part of Kia’s upcoming electrified assault on the Australian market.
Kia says there will be a Sportage hybrid available early in 2024.
As with the larger Sorento hybrid it’ll use a 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine paired with an electric motor to boost performance and efficiency.
However, don’t expect the Sportage hybrid to take on the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid that has waiting lists stretching out to three years.
Kia says it will initially only be able to get about 200 Sportage hybrids per month, which is about one-tenth of Toyota’s RAV4 sales.
As for the technology that sits between hybrids and full battery electric vehicles – plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs – Kia chief executive Damien Meredith says the sales figures suggest they are “dead”.
“It’s a hard concept to sell,” he says.