All 1,500 units of the First Edition Kia EV6 were spoken for the day the offer became available.
While the futuristic Hyundai IONIQ 5 has become a runaway sales success in recent time, its all-electric sibling from Kia though isn’t doing too badly either. Such is evidenced by the fact that all 1,500 units of the First Edition EV6s were allocated for the day the offer became available online in North America.
Though perhaps not as astounding as the 44,500 orders Ford has received for its upcoming F-150 Lightning in its first 48 hours, the strong demand for the EV6 is still nevertheless shows that there is an increasing appetite for EVs among current consumers. And rather embarrassingly for Kia too, it would seem that they themselves have severely underestimated the interest in its upcoming all-electric crossover.
That is because bookings for these First Edition EV6s was actually initially scheduled for the 3rd of June, but its dedicated reservation site had to be prematurely closed that day due to what the automaker described as technical difficulties that arose from the massive spike in internet traffic. Bookings were then relaunched 5 days later on the 8th of June at 10 a.m with improved bandwidth to the site, and all 1,500 units were spoken for with a refundable $100 (RM 415) deposit made before the day ended.
Now speaking a bit more about the specs of the First Edition, all of these limited initial run of EV6s will be of the all-wheel drive dual-motor variety hooked up to the long-range 77.4 kWh battery pack that is claimed to be good for 405 km of range. Being the launch-spec cars too, Kia has thrown all the kit at it, resulting in these 1,500 cars coming as standard with an augmented reality (AR) head-up display, Remote Smart Parking Assist, a panoramic sunroof, 20-inch wheels, and a 14-speaker Meridian surround sound system.
To further distinguish these launch models from the series production cars to come later down the line too, these limited run of EV6s gain illuminated door sills with the ‘First Edition’ designation in addition to a numbered interior badge highlighting its limited production volume. These initial run of all-electric Kia crossovers are also to be the only time where the Urban Yellow exterior hue will be made available to order, as well as the only period where there is the option of having dark green seats within the white-painted variants.
According to Kia, North American deliveries of the First Edition EV6 is expected to take place some time in the first quarter of next year. It should also be around that time when expecting owners will be receiving their free gifts that was selected during the booking.
A choice of three free gifts were able to be selected: an at-home vehicle charger, a 1000 kWh credit within a national charging network, or an Apple Watch. Unsurprisingly however, over 81% of pre-order registrants chose the at-home charger.
PRESS RELEASE: The limited run of 1,500 First Edition EV6s have been fully reserved the day the offer became available on Kia.com. Delivery to local dealers is expected in Q1 2022.
The First Edition was offered with a choice of three gifts – an at-home vehicle charger, a 1000 kWh credit within a national charging network, or an Apple Watch for connecting to the EV6’s suite of Kia Connect services. Over 81% of pre-order registrants chose the at-home charger.
The First Edition was made available in three color combinations – Urban Yellow with black seats, Glacier (white) with dark green seats, and Steel Gray Matte with black seats, with the Urban Yellow exterior color and dark green seats on the Glacier variant being exclusive to the First Edition. On the inside, the special edition features Illuminated door sills with “First Edition” designation, a numbered interior badge highlighting the limited production volume, Augmented Reality Head-Up Display, Remote Smart Parking Assist, sunroof, 20-inch wheels, premium 14-speaker Meridian audio system, dual-motor AWD power delivery and a 77.4 kWh battery.
“Kia welcomes the first EV6 buyers who join us in this historic movement.” said Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America and Kia America. “Kia’s ‘electric lifestyle’ delivers a unique combination of luxury, performance and technology and the First Edition EV6 will provide owners with an experience all of their own.”
