Kia is mostly planning on bringing in its EV6 electric crossover to the Indian market later this year
Hyundai India’s current line-up includes one EV offering, the Kona, which is expected to get a mild update later this year. However, Hyundai’s sister concern, Kia Motors currently has 0 offering for the electric car users in India. While overall EV PV sales in the country are low, the segment itself is growing rapidly. Home-grown automaker, Tata Motors currently dominates the space and is expected to be joined by Mahindra soon.
Kia Electric Car India
To cater to this evolving market, Kia seems to be planning on bringing in the EV6 to India. As a first step, it has filed for 5 trademarks. These include EV6, EV6 Earth, EV6 Water, EV6 Air and EV6 Light.
It is an indication that plans for induction of the EV6 in the Indian market are ON and most probably the electric crossover will be launched in 4 different trims, namely Earth, Water, Air and Light. Interestingly, in international markets, the EV6 is sold in 3 different trims, namely Light, Wind and GT-Line.
The EV6 is based upon Kia’s E-GMP platform, which it shares with the Hyundai Ioniq 5. The platform happens to be an EV-specific platform and is expected to spawn more products in the future. It must be noted that earlier reports have suggested that Hyundai has been contemplating on bringing in the Ioniq 5 to the country.
Kia EV6 Powertrain
Talking about the EV6, the entry level trims get a 58 kWh battery pack which powers a rear-mounted motor. The setup can dish-out 167 bhp and 349 Nm of peak torque and can do 0-100 kmph in 8 seconds. It has a restricted top speed of 185 kmph while the overall driving range happens to be 373 km.
Kia also offers a larger battery pack option, which is rated at 77.4 kWh. It powers a rear-mounted motor which can churn out 225 bhp and 349 Nm of max torque and has the ability to let the crossover do a 0-100 kmph in just 7.2 seconds.
Kia EV6 AWD option uses a dual-motor setup which has a combined power output of 320 bhp and 604 Nm. This combo helps the EV6 to do a 0-100 kmph run in just around 5 seconds while has its top speed limited to 188 kmph, electronically. With this larger battery set-up the range for the RWD variant happens to be 500 km while the AWD variant can last for 441 kms in a single charge.
Kia EV6 Features
Being a Kia, the crossover gets a ton of creature comfort features. The list includes a 12.3 inch instrument cluster, 8-way power adjustable driver seat, a 12.3 inch infotainment unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charger and much more.
For international markets, the EV6 also gets multiple advanced features like Level 2 Highway Autonomy driving feature, Highway Driving Assist 2. However, when the model comes to India via the CBU route, Kia might cut down on certain features to suit the Indian market and keep the sticker price in check.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
