The Kia EV9 isn’t the only large electric SUV set to come out of Korea.
Its Hyundai Ioniq 7 platform-mate has been spied ahead of an expected debut this year, with photos shared by Korean site Autospy.
Hyundai Australia has already confirmed it will go on sale in Australia during 2024, and help boost sales of its Ioniq-branded electric vehicles from 3000 in 2023 to 6000 units in 2024.
Like the EV9, which will touch down in Australia later this year, the Ioniq 7 rides the dedicated electric E-GMP architecture.
The Ioniq 7 is still wearing extensive camouflage, but we can see it has remained quite faithful to the 2021 Seven concept in its overall shape, with a more curvaceous roofline than its boxier EV9 cousin.
However, the groovy lounge-like interior of the concept is certain to look more tame in production guise, though as the EV9 showed we can still expect neat touches like swivelling seats to survive the transition to production.
With a 3200mm wheelbase, Hyundai says the interior of the Seven concept offers a “completely new dimension of space” with a tall roof and a flat floor.
Like other vehicles in the Ioniq range, the production Ioniq 7 should also make use of recycled and sustainable materials in its production – such as the upholsteries, plastics, and paints.
The Seven Concept quoted “more than 480km” in driving range, though with undisclosed drivetrain specs. While Hyundai hasn’t confirmed further details, the new Kia EV9 should offer some strong clues, given the shared underpinnings.
- Standard: 160kW/350Nm single-motor RWD, 0-100km/h in 8.2 seconds
- Long Range: 150kW/350Nm single-motor RWD, 0-100km/h in 9.4 seconds
- Dual Motor: 283kW/600Nm dual-motor AWD, 0-100km/h in 6.0 seconds
A Boost feature is available on the Kia Connect store for dual-motor versions, increasing torque to 700Nm and cutting the 0-100km/h time to 5.3 seconds. Kia claims the EV9 will offer towing capacity of up to 2500kg.
All bar the rear-wheel drive Standard will use a 99.8kWh battery, with the base model using a smaller 76.1kWh battery.
Kia has only published a range figure for the rear-wheel drive Long Range model with 19-inch wheels, which works out to 541km on the stricter WLTP cycle.
The EV9 offers 800V ultra-fast charging capability like other vehicles on the E-GMP platform, and Kia says 239km of range can be added in 15 minutes.
It can also be used to power appliances thanks to a Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function, which puts out up to 3.68kW of power.
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SEVEN Concept -
Kia EV9 -
SEVEN Concept -
Kia EV9
Hyundai Australia says supply of its electric vehicles is opening up, meaning it no longer has to sell its E-GMP-based models in ‘drops’ as it has done with the Ioniq 5 in the past.
There’s no more geofencing either, meaning anyone in Australia can now buy an Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 6 using the online sales portal, and take delivery from your preferred ‘delivery partner’.
Speaking of, Hyundai wants to have up to 90 delivery partners across 90-100 dealerships across Australia by the end of next year. Currently, that tally is sitting at 24 partners.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest.
