Kia EV9 Spotted in Malaysia – Launching Imminent?

The new Kia EV9 spotted in Malaysia! Photo credit: Nazrul Ihsan via Facebook

Months after making its global debut, the new Kia EV9 has been spotted in Malaysia for the first time today. Spotted by Facebook user Nazrul Ihsan, the EV9 was on a flatbed truck, parked beside the road. Unlike previous spy shots of yet-to-be-launched cars, this EV9 appears to not have any camouflaged drapes on them.

This EV9 appears to be an RHD unit! Photo credit: Route Hunters via Facebook

Taking further inspection at the EV9, this time courtesy of photos from Route Hunters, we can see that this EV9 here is a right-hand-driven (RHD) unit. More interestingly is the fact that the EV9 has yet to make its debut in any RHD markets in the world – hence raising the question whether Malaysia will be the first RHD market in the world to get this new EV SUV.

Unfortunately, no matter how much we wanted it to be the truth, it is very unlikely that such a thing is about to happen. Instead, we opined that this exact EV9 unit might belong to Kia Motors Asia Pacific (Kia APAC), which is headquartered here in the middle of Kuala Lumpur.

Could this unit belong to Kia APAC? (Photo credit: Route Hunters via Facebook)

Should this be true, then perhaps this EV9 spotted here is brought down by Kia APAC to either serve as the company’s fleet car, or more importantly, to undergo several RHD testings here in Malaysia, before making its debut in other bigger and more important RHD markets in the world. 

Mind you, this is not a new thing, as Kia APAC previously brought various Kia models in Malaysia, either for testing purposes or to use them as the company’s fleet car.

Back to the EV9, this new EV SUV by Kia features a unique design that serves as a basis for several new and facelifted Kia models, including the newly-launched Kia Niro EV. Penned by renowned automotive designer Karim Habib, the EV9 underpins Hyundai Group’s proprietary E-GMP platform with 800-volt battery architecture, allowing it to be fitted with battery packs as big as 99.8-kWh. This allows the EV9 to travel as far as 541 KM on a single charge.

In its home market, the Kia EV9 is tagged from KRW 77.28 million (RM268,371), making it slightly more expensive than its smaller cousin, the Kia EV6 GT, which retailed at KRW 72 million (RM250,075 approx.). 

Kia EV6 GT (left) & Kia EV9 SUV (right)

If Dinamikjaya Motors (Bermaz) – sole importer and distributor of Kia cars in Malaysia – decides to someday bring the EV9 into our local market, we can expect them to priced not that far-off from the Malaysian-spec EV6 GT, which currently retails at RM319,668.

So folks, what do you think of this recently-spotted Kia EV9? Keen to see this three-row EV SUV debuting into our market soon? As always, don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below…