Wait times on the Kia EV6 electric crossover are being whittled away on the back of greatly improved factory supply to Australia, giving it a better shot at fighting market-leader Tesla.
Kia Australia tells us that buyers can expect to get their hands on an EV6 of any variant only 2-3 months after placing an order – or even more quickly if their dealer has stock ready to go.
This is a massive change in rapid time. At one point earlier this year the vehicle was subject to wait times commonly around 12 months, and in some cases closer to two years, with an order bank somewhere near 1500 units.
Thankfully for those people, Kia Australia expects to clear this order backlog within a few months, meaning it can ramp up marketing and promotion and create incremental demand. The Korean factory stands ready to meet demand having pivoted to Australia, the company adds.
Since the start of 2022 Kia has sold 1266 units of the EV6, but could have more than doubled this based on enquiry levels.
It’s a similar story for sibling brand Hyundai with its related Ioniq 5, both vehicles being released in tranches of a few hundred cars when they hit the market.
Over the first half of 2023 the EV6 was the eighth top-selling EV in Australia, but the Tesla Model Y outsold it 28:1 (14,002 sales versus 535 sales, January to June).
Kia insists the reduced wait times on EV6 apply to all variants: the base Air (20 per cent of sales at the current run rate, but growing with increased fleet uptake), the mid-range GT-Line (60 per cent of sales), and the supercar-fast EV6 GT (20 per cent).
The 2023 Kia EV6 range opens at $72,590 before on-road costs for the Air, climbing to $79,950 for the single-motor GT-Line, $87,590 for the dual-motor AWD GT-Line, and $95,590 for the GT which can do the 0-100km/h dash in only 3.5 seconds.
This means no EV6 is eligible for various state rebates, given it exceeds the cost threshold, but much of the range is eligible for federal fringe-benefits tax exemptions for fleet buyers or those on novated lease plans.
For a little context, the base EV6 Air ($72,590) with a 528km WLTP driving range per charge, sits between the Tesla Model Y base ($65,400) and Model Y Long Range ($78,400). All these prices are before on-road costs.
MORE: 2023 Kia EV6 GT review
MORE: 2023 Kia EV6 Air review
MORE: 2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line review
MORE: 2022 Kia EV6 v Polestar 2 v Tesla Model 3 comparison
