Kia's EV9 Will Outsell Its EV6 In The US As Long As Consumers Don't Have Cheaper Options

Kia’s newly released EV9 all electric 3 row SUV was the best selling EV in Kia’s lineup last month, outselling both the compact EV6 and the subcompact Niro EV. Is the EV9’s sales lead simply due to its newness, or is something else going on over at Kia?

This is just a matter of speculation, but I do not think the EV9’s early sales lead is simply due to it being the newest EV on offer from Kia. Rather, I think the main reason Kia’s EV9 will continue to outsell Kia’s other EVs, most months this year, is because of the value proposition it presents to consumers. Electrek.com makes this pretty obvious in their piece about the EV9’s recent sales trajectory, stating that “Kia calls the EV9’s $54,900 (not including destination) starting price an industry “wake-up call.” There simply is no other 3 row fully electric SUV on offer that comes in anywhere near the price of Kia’s EV9. With Kia’s EV6 having a starting MSRP of $42,600, Kia may even be cannibalizing some of its sales given that drivers get so much more space and capability for the extra $12,300. This could be even more true if and when the EV9 becomes eligible for federal incentives that lower its sale price (instead of just the lease price, as is currently the case), which is expected to be the case later this year (though if Kia then raises the price of the EV9, that may negate things). Perhaps Kia will end up adjusting prices of these two models at some point later this year, or next.

Let’s look at the main reason though: the EV9’s competition. There are at least 5 midsize all electric SUV competitors to the EV9. They are: the Tesla Model X, the Volvo EX90, the Rivian R1S, the Mercedes EQS SUV, and the BMW iX. The cheapest one of these (the Volvo EX90) starts at over $22,000 more! While one may rightfully quibble about the Kia not being a luxury SUV like these (one may make the same quibble about the Model X too though), that isn’t the point. The point is: if you need (or just really want) a 3 row all electric midsize SUV, these are basically your choices and Kia is the only choice, for now, that is anywhere close to being reasonably affordable to the majority of the new car buying public. This fact will drive EV9 sales until there is other similarly priced competition and Kia will certainly steal some sales from the other luxury EV SUVs considering even in its top trim level it still costs less than the base model Volvo. As I said before, Tesla may want to lower the Model X’s price again if they want to keep selling Model X’s at the rate they were selling in recent years.

The pricing and availability of the EV9 also raises another quandary for me: will the EV9 take sales away from plug-in hybrid 3 row SUVs, including Kia’s own Sorento PHEV? Might Mazda with its CX-90 PHEV, Lexus with its TX PHEV, and the Volvo XC90 Recharge PHEV to name a few lose sales to the EV9 as well? I think it greatly depends on how many EV9’s Kia can deliver. Since I don’t expect Kia can deliver the EV9 in massive volumes this year, I would wager that the answer is yes, but only a handful (from each), or more precisely, several hundred to a few thousand this year. The reason I think any midsize 3 row PHEV may lose some sales to the EV9 is simply because some buyers will prefer that all electric powertrain and or other features unique to the EV9 amongst this set. I don’t think the EV9 will prevail with many potential PHEV buyers if they are doing the math on fuel costs or relative efficiency because, at least in Kia’s case, their PHEV alternative is similarly fuel efficient and would not offer much or any cost savings in that department.

Are you looking at the EV9? Are you also looking at any other 3 row (or 2 row) EV SUVs or even PHEV alternatives? Which would you pick and why? Please leave your questions and comments below.

Images courtesy of Kia and Justin Hart.

Justin Hart has owned and driven electric vehicles for over 15 years, including a first generation Nissan LEAF, second generation Chevy Volt, Tesla Model 3, an electric bicycle and most recently a Kia Sorento PHEV. He is also an avid SUP rider, poet, photographer and wine lover. He enjoys taking long EV and PHEV road trips to beautiful and serene places with the people he loves. Follow Justin on Torque News Kia or X for regular electric and hybrid news coverage.