Before the full unveiling later this month, Kia has provided a glimpse of the EV9 seven-seater’s bold exterior design with these moody teaser shots.
Kia’s all-electric ‘EV’ range rollout started with the EV6, and the Korean brand has a further nine electric vehicles in the pipeline until 2027. The first of these new models will be the large EV9 SUV: a seven-seater underpinned by the firm’s modular E-GMP platform, which Kia has teased ahead of its reveal in mid-March.
A previous set of official images depicted a prototype EV9 as it neared the latter stages of development, and as confirmed by these latest shots, the production version will bear a close resemblance to the EV9 Concept from 2021. The show car’s upright stance and boxy proportions will make it to showrooms, along with its intricate LED headlight design made up of several L-shaped elements.
The front end will also adopt Kia’s signature ‘tiger-nose’ graphic, albeit without a traditional front grille. At the rear, the tail lights will extend along the D-pillars and up to a small roof spoiler.
Spy shots of EV9 test mules indicate that the concept’s stocky wheel arch extensions will make production, although its enormous triangle-design 22-inch wheels have been swapped for more conventional 21-inch items.
The EV9’s exterior design and cabin will break cover later this month, with full technical details being revealed towards the end of March.
The EV9’s interior is expected to draw inspiration from the concept car’s radical seven-seat cabin, albeit heavily watered down and without its suicide doors. A 27-inch widescreen display would be one of the largest screens fitted to a production car (still smaller than the 31-inch unit in the new BMW 7 Series, however), and it’ll sit high up on the dash. We also expect a fairly minimalist cabin design, with few physical buttons but don’t think the concept’s one-spoke, oval steering wheel will come to market.
The Concept EV9 has a heavy focus on sustainability and the interior fabric is made from recycled plastic bottles and wool fibre. The floor incorporates old fishing nets and the firm says it plans on phasing out all animal leather in its cars. We’re not sure how much of this will find its way into the production EV9.