Kia has lifted the covers on its first dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV), revealing an eye-catching piece of automotive design ahead of the full worldwide release next week. This includes New Zealand, later this year.

Boasting distinctive crossover-inspired styling and based on the brand’s new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), EV6 is Kia’s first dedicated BEV to be influenced by a new design philosophy that Kia says embodies their shifting focus towards electrification.

Kia refers to the new design philosophy as ‘Opposites United’, taking inspiration from the contrasts found in nature and humanity.

“EV6, as the first dedicated Kia EV, is a showcase of human-centred, progressive design and electrified power,” says Karim Habib, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Design Centre.

“We aimed to create a distinctive, impactful design by using a combination of sophisticated, high-tech features on pure and rich volumes, while providing a unique space as a futuristic EV.”

Designed and engineered to embody Kia’s new brand slogan, ‘Movement that inspires’, EV6 is expected to go on sale in worldwide markets, including New Zealand later this year.

And one person who is very much looking forward to the arrival of the EV6 is Todd McDonald, Managing Director of Kia New Zealand. “It is a stunning looking vehicle, inside and out – quite unlike anything produced by Kia in the past, a hint of the brand’s future direction,” he says.

Among the syling cues that stand out in these first full photos is the ‘Digital Tiger Face’, a design progression evoking the spirit of Kia’s ‘Tiger Nose Grille’ for the electrified era.

The influence of the EV era is also seen in the interior design, liberated by Kia’s dedicated E-GMP platform, which offers increased space compared to previous Kia EVs based on existing model architecture. EV6’s interior design profiles an innovative use of space, creating a unique spatial and driving experience.

The forthcoming EV6 is the first of a planned 11 Battery Electric Vehicles that Kia aims to introduce by 2026. Full details of the EV6, including technical specifications such as power and range, will be provided at the international launch.

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How on earth to start this? I've been car/bike/truck crazy since I was a teen. Like John, I had the obligatory Countach poster on the wall. I guess I'm more officially into classic and muscle cars than anything else - I currently have a '65 Sunbeam Tiger that left the factory the same day as I left the hospital as a newborn with my mother. How could I not buy that car? In 2016 my wife and I drove across the USA in a brand-new Dodge Challenger, and then shipped it home. You can read more on www.usa2nz.co.nz. We did this again in 2019 in a 1990 Chev Corvette - you can read about that trip on DriveLife. I'm a driving instructor and an Observer for the Institute of Advanced Motorists - trying to do my bit to make our roads safer.

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