Kia EV6 wait times shortening as supply improves in 2023

Kia Australia has confirmed it has secured more stock of its in-demand flagship EV6 electric car, with supply set to almost double in 2023.

The local arm told CarExpert that at least 1200 – or “over 100 per month” – Kia EV6 examples are expected for Australia in 2023. For reference, around 45 units of the smaller Kia Niro EV are being imported each month at launch from July.

The company also confirmed that 85 more units will land before the year ends, rounding to a total of 700 EV6’s allocated for Australia in 2022. That’s up from the updated 615 figure in August and initial 500 allocation suggested at its launch in February.

This will relieve pressure on the growing wait list for the South Korean carmaker’s first bespoke electric vehicle, previously mooted to stretch up to two years similar to the popular Toyota RAV4 Hybrid medium SUV.

That estimate has now been revised to 12 months or less; however, the company told Drive that wait times vary depending on a range of factors.

“The production situation changes regularly and along with the other considerations such as trim/colour combinations, shipping schedules, existing backorders a particular dealer could already have in place etc, it obviously makes it really hard to nominate a wait time,” a Kia Australia spokesperson said.

In July, Kia Australia raised the price of the entire EV6 line-up by $4600 citing global inflation, resulting in the range starting from $72,590 to 87,690 before on-road costs.

The cheapest EV6 Air is now $2690 more expensive than the related Ioniq 5 Dynamiq, but just $400 shy of the Volvo XC40 Recharge Plus.

Unlike its Hyundai Ioniq 5 sibling that’s being sold online in occasional ‘sales drop’ windows with fixed-pricing, Kia EV6 backorders are made directly with its network of franchise dealers.

Check out our Kia EV6 GT-Line AWD review

Hyundai Ioniq 5 (left), Genesis GV60 (right)

According to industry sales figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), 426 Kia EV6s have been registered year-to-date up to the end of August.

For context, 418 Hyundai Ioniq 5s and 1017 Tesla Model Ys – which commenced deliveries in August – have been sold during the same period.

The flagship Kia EV6 GT variant is set to join in early 2023 with Tesla Model Y Performance and Porsche Taycan Turbo rivalling performance figures.

Meanwhile, the more upmarket related Genesis GV60 recently launched using a fixed-pricing, online-only model bundled with a free five-year, unlimited Chargefox public charging subscription or 7.2kW AC Wallbox Pulsar Plus home charger as per all Genesis EVs. The GV60’s initial 150 unit allocation has almost been stressed out as of early September.