Earlier in January this year, Kia announced its entry into Thailand with the establishment of Kia Thailand. The move represents the South Korean carmaker’s commitment to expanding its presence in Asia Pacific, which has also seen it partner with Bermaz Auto in Malaysia – Dinamikjaya was named as official distributor.
Kia’s entry into Thailand is guided by the ‘Plan S-5’ strategy, with one of the objectives being to have electric vehicles (EVs) make up 50% of the company’s sales. In early March, Kia Thailand began its EV offensive by launching the EV9, which is making its public debut at the ongoing Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS).
The EV9 is destined to be launched in Malaysia too, although Dinamikjaya has yet to confirm a date. However, the company says it will put the fully electric three-row SUV on sale “really soon,” so it shouldn’t be too long until the EV6 and Niro EV gains some new company.
Built on the E-GMP platform, the EV9 is a large SUV that measures 5,010 to 5,015 mm long, 1,980 mm wide, 1,755 to 1,780 mm tall and has wheelbase spanning 3,100 mm. It has the honour of being brand’s flagship electric SUV and is styled following the ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy.
Up front, you’ll find the ‘Digital Tiger Face’ with a closed-off grille that is partially illuminated – Kia refers to this as the ‘Digital Pattern Lighting Grille’. This is joined by ‘Star Map’ daytime running lights that run along the edges of the fac e and main headlamps that are made up of clusters of small cube lamps.
Sharp lines and prominent creases accompany the boxy profile along with body cladding in gloss black as well as flush door handles. Meanwhile, the taillights in the rear mimic the DRLs at front to continue the constellation-shaped lighting theme.
Inside, the EV9’s sports a horizontal dashboard with three conjoined screens sitting in a single housing. These include a 5.3-inch climate control touchscreen sandwiches between the digital instrument cluster and infotainment touchscreen measuring 12.3 inches each.
Two seat configurations are offered for the Thailand market depending on whether you go with the base Earth Long Range or top-spec GT-Line AWD variant. Both have a 2-2-2 seat layout, but the entry-level option has manually adjustable seats that swivel in the second row. As for the GT-Line AWD, it gets the “boss spec” with relaxation seats that don’t swivel but are electrically adjustable and come with heating, ventilation, ottoman and massaging functions.
Variant-specific equipment for the Earth Long Range include 20-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlamps with high beam assist, decorative LED lighting for the grille, LED taillights, a roof rack, a two-panel sunroof, keyless entry and start and a powered tailgate with kick sensor.
The list continues with synthetic leather upholstery, powered front seats with heating and ventilation functions, power-folding third-row seats, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, three-zone climate control with second- and third-row vents, ambient lighting, a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, an eight-speaker sound system, a wireless charging pad and six USB ports.
The GT-Line AWD improves upon the base variant by gaining 21-inch alloys, the GT-Line exterior styling package, an electrically adjustable steering wheel, sunshades, metal pedals, a 14-speaker Meridian sound system and expanded functionality for the front seats (leg cushions and a driver’s seat position recognition system). The range-topper also gets self-leveling rear suspension to keep things stable when the vehicle is loaded up.
Safety and driver assistance systems are identical for both variants and include seven airbags, the usual array of passive systems, hill start assist, rear occupant alert, all-around parking sensors, a surround view monitor, Smart Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist, Blind-Spot View Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Collision Avoidance, Lane Following Assist with Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision Avoidance Assist as well as Safe Exit Assist.
Another thing that is shared across the EV9 line-up in Thailand is a 99.8-kWh lithium-ion battery, which, thanks to the E-GMP platform and its 800V architecture, enables DC fast charging (CCS2) at a max of 350 kW – a 10-80% state of charge (SoC) takes 24 minutes.
There’s also AC charging (Type 2) that will take nine hours and 45 minutes to get from the same 10-80% SoC, along with a vehicle-to-load (V2L) system capable of outputting up to 3.58 kW to power electrical accessories and devices.
While the battery pack is identical, the Earth Long Range provides up to 680 km following the NEDC standard compared to the GT-Line AWD that can go 647 km on a single charge. The difference is due to the motor configuration, with the base option having a single electric motor in the rear rated at 203 PS (200 hp or 149.5 kW) and 350 Nm of torque for a 0-100 km/h time of 9.4 seconds and top speed of 185 km/h.
The GT-Line AWD gets an electric motor on each axle for all-wheel drive and a total system output of 384 PS (379 hp or 282.6 kW) and 700 Nm. With the increased grunt, this variant completes the century sprint in just 5.3 seconds and tops out at 200 km/h.
The Thailand-spec EV9 is fully imported (CBU) from South Korea and comes with a seven-year vehicle warranty, an eight-year warranty on the high-voltage battery, free maintenance for seven years as well as seven years of roadside assistance. Pricing-wise, the Earth Long Range retails for 3.499 million baht (about RM455k) while the GT-Line AWD is 3.899 million baht (about RM507k).
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Hard to see msians paying 400-500k for a Kia and i assume something to combat the velfire/alphard market here.
They should launch the EV5 first. Demand is huge before Tesla Y Juniper or byd sea lion 07 reaches.
This would be a great company car.
pricey