A certain Korean company is number one in the UK, SMMT data for the first quarter show. This is due to the microchip-related misfortune of others as much as it is due to a common aspiration for Kier models.
Electric vehicle registrations rose 79 percent to 39,315 in March, with battery-only models accounting for 16 percent of the UK market. Not only is this a record for any month, it is more than the one sold out in all of 2019.
Market down, Kia up
Kia’s sales last month rose 58 percent year-over-year, a market that fell 14 percent.
While Tesla was in first and second place, the best-selling Kia was the new Sportage. To date (8,697) this SUV is second only to the Vauxhall Corsa (9,797). It is followed by Ford Puma (8,528) and Second Kia (Nero: 7,194), in the top ten.
Hyundai is ahead almost everywhere
The Korean brand is developing in many other regional countries, ending in March as number one in Spain and doing well in smaller markets such as Italy (Sweden (third)) and Slovakia (fourth).
It is going to be difficult for Hyundai to return to the lead, although perhaps the parent company Kia is better off because it has come a long way in Europe.
Germany remains the hardest nut to crack the supposed number two mark so Hyundai will at least be satisfied that the packing order will be there.
How did Kia become No. 1 in the UK?
In the UK, there are multiple incentives to boost sales: a 4.9 per cent APR and zero customer deposit picks, including PCP and GBP500 FDA for PML Delay Plus Sportage. The brand’s seven-year warranty and general recommendations are always in the background.
The new EV6 still has its own schemes to entice those who might choose a Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Ford Mustang Mach-E instead. There is a standard Kia charge card 8 This means 20,500 UK charge points and 325,000 access to other European countries.
Anyone who chooses this EV will receive a one-year subscription to Ionity’s Power bolt-on. The cost of recharging comes down from 99 pence per kilowatt hour to twenty five.
Even 40,000 kiosks are selling well
Kia UK told me “just over 1,500” examples of electric crossovers were sold in Q1 and this is quite surprising for a model that is still not very well known, also high price (from GBP41,695).
This is the company’s first electric car that is clearly designed as one and it looks different. Engineers and designers are re-imagining the proportions of EVs so there are some strange shapes, also the interior parts have plenty of space and flat but high floors.
After liking the look of the thing since I first saw its image in March 2021, it’s finally time to try for a week. The usual good-bad experience of recharging any EV was certainly part of the experience but none of us can blame the car for it.
Charging: 60+ miles in five minutes
Connected to an 18V cable, the fastest 0-80 percent charge for an EV6 is possible in a theoretical 18 minutes, all right. This means that it takes only four and a half minutes to charge 100 km (WLTP). It’s a different story from home socket or wallbox but it’s mostly okay.
Kia’s European division notes that cars for its territory are either 4,680 mm (EV6) or 4,695 mm (EV6 GT-line, EV6 GT) long. Width also varies: 1,880 mm for base cars and 1,890 mm for GT-Line and GT. This was an advantage over several competitors, whose designers had to compromise on a piece of battery and expand the boundaries of the usually narrow British garage.
Just a (big) boot
The rear boot of all vehicles has the same 2,900 mm wheelbase and 520 liters of luggage capacity or up to 1,300 seats. And for the European market, except RWD, which offers 52 liters, everyone else has only 20 liters of space in the front carriage. This is a good place to hide the wires.
This electric hatchback, which has 400 V and 800 V charging capabilities, is the first Kia to use Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
The specifications of the first five variants announced by the manufacturer in March 2021 are as follows:
- EV6 and EV6 GT-line – standard range, 58.0 kWh battery, from a single motor 125 kW and 350 Nm, RWD
- EV6 and EV6 GT-line – standard range, 58.0 kWh battery, 173 kW and 605 Nm combined from two motors, AWD
- EV6 and EV6 GT-line – long range, 77.4 kWh battery, 168 kW from a single motor and 350 Nm, RWD
- EV6 and EV6 GT-line – long range, 77.4 kWh battery, combined from two motors 239 kW and 605 Nm, AWD
- EV6 GT – Long range, 77.4 kWh battery, 430 kW and 740 Nm combined from two motors, AWD
We can choose from three model grades – ‘Air’, ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’ – GT will be here in October. The mid-spec car I’ve tried is certainly fast and powerful, while the good news is that the larger battery is ideal for all versions of the UK.
The back window of the EV6 desperately needs a wipe-wash and where there is at least some physical control for functions where the driver needs to find out quickly, another problem is that most of the functions are being controlled through a screen.
Another problem is turning off the lane following assist every time the car is turned on and, like other HMG models, it is very intrusive when activated. If Kia can change these few but very important things, then the new EV6 will really give the impression of a car made from a premium brand.
Produced in Korea and China
Production at Kia Corporation’s Sohari factory began in July last year, and the first market began selling in South Korea the following month. Although the build will not only be in the company’s homeland.
After major changes to the Dongfeng Yueda Kia JV, Kia announced in February that Yueda Kia would begin Chinese production of the EV6 in 2023. As a result of the restructuring, Dongfeng Motor sold its 25% stake to the Yueida Group, creating another state-owned firm. : 50 joint ventures. So far, the remaining two plants of the partners in Yancheng City have an annual combined capacity of 600,000 passenger vehicles.
W.Hats other EVs coming?
Next year, the EV9 VW, about 5 meters long, will be followed by the likes of ID.6 X and ID.6 Crozz (now in China), Ford Explorer EV (2024), Mazda CX-80 and CX-90. (Late ’23) plus even others including Volvo Embla (late ’22).
One should not doubt that Kia Corporation sees the EVs as an opportunity to build on pricing progress because it has become a kind of Korean Volkswagen. In sequential terms, in the relevant country, a relentless push upwards.
By 2027 there will be 14 EVs in the global range with the addition of at least two each year starting in 2023. There is a pair of total pick-ups, one of which will be for countries where the Kia name will be added to the price, the price firm also known as the ‘entry-level BV model’. All of this is part of a plan to sell more than 800,000 EVs by 2026.
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