Kia EV9 SUV Shown Testing ahead of Early 2023 Debut

Kia announced the reveal of the EV9 electric SUV will happen in the first quarter of 2023.Kia has yet to confirm that the EV9 will come to the U.S., but we believe it will.New images show the production EV9 testing in camouflage, and it looks very similar to the concept shown in 2021.

This spring, Kia confirmed that the EV9 concept first seen at the Los Angeles auto show in November 2021 would go into production sometime in 2023. Now the Korean automaker has revealed that the electric full-size crossover will have its global debut in the first quarter of next year. Kia also published a series of photos of the production EV9 undergoing testing.

Kia

Kia has yet to confirm that the EV9 will be available in the United States. Since it’s a large SUV and because the concept was unveiled at an American auto show, we believe the EV9 will make it stateside, although it will likely go on sale in Europe first. We have reached out to Kia for comment and will update this story if we receive a confirmation.

The new images show the EV9 testing at Kia’s Namyang R&D facility in South Korea. Kia says the EV9 has gone up against a four-wheel-drive climbing hill, rough terrain track, deep-water wading test, and a cobblestone road to evaluate ride comfort. The EV9 has also been assessed on a high-speed circuit and tracks that test the handling in low-friction scenarios. While we can only see the front end of the EV9, it looks very similar to the concept, with vertical headlights and two horizontal trim pieces. The body itself is less chunky than the concept’s, but the upwards kink on the window line has carried over. Kia says that the EV9 will become the brand’s flagship model when it arrives in 2023.

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