Kia will launch a new all-electric SUV later in the year, badged EV9. But ahead of the car's arrival, potential specifications and prices have been leaked - for the American market version of the car at least. 

The all-electric SUV will become the brand’s flagship model which it claims will ‘revolutionise’ the large electric SUV segment. With seven seats, it will be a new rival for the Tesla Model X, but potentially offer the space and range of that car in a more affordable package.

According to American media outlets, Kia has been canvassing its customers in the USA in regards to their expectations of what a seven-seat Kia SUV should be, potentially revealing what the EV9 line-up could look like. 

The price of the car could start from around $56,000 (roughly £45,000), for a basic version capable of around 220 miles on a single charge, with a long range version claiming 290 miles. It's unclear if these figures are estimates, or if they are representative of the EV9's official range under the American EPA standard, which generally yields less generous results than the WLTP regime electric cars are tested under in Europe. 

Elsewhere, high performance versions with around 400bhp could also be on the cards, with seating for six in full-size seats. The very fastest EV9 could be capable of 0-60mph in 5.2 seconds. 

New photos of the car wearing light ‘camouflage’ disguise also show that it is little changed from the concept which was revealed in 2021. 

Watch Ginny’s walkaround video of the Kia EV9 concept here. 

New pictures show the EV9 has changed little from the concept

Developed over a period of 44 months, the EV9 is currently being durability tested at Kia’s Namyang R&D centre in Korea.

The 4.9m SUV will be the next model built on the brand’s new electric car structure, which is also shared with Hyundai.

The show car has some impressive statistics, with a 0-62mph time of around five seconds and a maximum range of 336 miles. These are likely to be similar for the production model. 

Kia has stated previously that the structure used in the EV6 is modular and can be adapted to accommodate different numbers of battery cells. Given the size of the EV9, it’s likely that it will come with more than the 77.4kWh pack currently offered in the EV6. 

 Kia says the EV9’s design has been ‘inspired by nature’, and uses upcycled materials developed from ocean waste, including plastic bottles and discarded fishing nets.

The seven seater will go on sale in mid 2023