The Indian car market is slowly but surely moving towards electric mobility, and many options are now available with the buyers at various price points. Barely a few days after BMW launched the i4 electric sedan in India, Korean carmaker Kia has joined the bandwagon with the EV6. The electric crossover is the brands’ fifth car in India, but is its first electric offering and comes loaded with features and tech. The Kia EV6 is being offered in India in two variants—GT-Line and GT-Line AWD. It is the first Kia to be rolled out under the brand’s new design philosophy of ‘Opposites United’. The crossover design is aerodynamic and specially the rear with is tail lamp cluster really stands out. The profile is also quite attractive and the flush door handles do add their charm. The EV6 is being offered in five colour options – Moonscape, Snow-white pearl, Runway Red, Aurora Black Pearl, and Yacht blue.
Inside there’s lots of tech and features, something we associate generally with the brand. Two 12.3-inch curved screens are a highlight and are apart of a single unit. The centre console is quite unique and practical at the same time and comes with many features. There’s also a Meridian Sound system along with a sunroof that add to the appeal of the EV6. The seats offer good bolstering, and the more surprising part is availability of good space. With a flat floor you can make 3 people sit here with a lot of comfort.
The Kia EV6 is the first BEV built on Kia’s dedicated EV platform, the Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). It features an 800-volt ultra-fast charging capability, with a 10-80 percent charge taking only 18 minutes using a 350-kW charger. The car is introduced in India with a long-range (77.4 kWh) battery pack and provides up to 528 kilometres of range on a single charge (RWD model).It gets the latest generation of Kia’s regenerative braking system that recuperates kinetic energy to maximize driving range and efficiency. There are four regenerative braking levels, where the‘i-PEDAL’ driving mode allows the car to halt without needing to push brake pedal.
The EV6 starts at Rs. 59.95 lakh (ex-showroom) for the RWD model while the AWD model will set you back by Rs. 64.95 lakh. It is available in 15 select dealerships across 12 cities which will be equipped with charging infrastructure. Kia will be installing 150kW chargers across all these EV dealerships. The car will come with a smart charger that gives a peak power output of 22Kw, as standard for all customers. It gets a warranty of 3 years, unlimited kilometres, and additional battery coverage for 8 years / 1,60,000 kilometres. As of now only 100 units of the car are on sale in the country. Deliveries of the AWD variant of the vehicle will commence this September.
Kia India is evaluating other EVs for the Indian market and confirmed its plans of developing an India-centric EV in RV body type to be launched by 2025. Globally too, the brand plans to accelerate its EV transition, aiming to be the world’s leading EV maker with plans to expand its BEV line-up to 14 models by 2027. Furthermore, Kia Corporation aspires to sell 1.2 million BEVs by 2030. Kia is targeting a 6.6% global EV market share and 25% share of its sales from eco-friendly vehicles by the end of 2025.
The author is a senior editor at carandbike.com
