After making its debut in the five-meter class, Kia immediately won over the 27-member jury of the ‘German Car of the Year 2024’ (GCOTY) award. The three-row Kia EV9 electric SUV, has been selected within the “Luxury” category for the German Car of the Year 2024 competition, encompassing all models with a base price exceeding 70,000 Euro. The Kia EV9 emerged as the victorious choice against eight other competing models in its category.
The Kia EV9 has become the second model to join Kia’s dedicated battery-electric vehicle lineup, following in the successful path of the multi-award-winning EV6, which earned the title of European Car of the Year in 2022. Since July, the Kia EV9 has been open for orders in Europe, with the first units scheduled for delivery to European customers later this year.
In this year’s GCOTY competition, which marks its sixth edition, a panel of 27 trade journalists tested and evaluated a comprehensive lineup of 48 new models. The competition is structured into five distinctive categories: ‘Compact,’ ‘Premium,’ ‘Luxury,’ ‘New Energy,’ and ‘Performance.’ Currently, the panel is poised to select the overall winner from the five best-in-class, with the announcement slated for the beginning of October.
The EV9 represents Kia’s largest model offering in Europe to date. Following the EV6’s example, it is built on the Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) and features the advantage of 800-volt ultra-fast charging technology, giving it one of the best charging performances in its class. When conditions are optimal, the 99.8 kWh battery can gain up to 239km of driving range in as little as 15 minutes of charging.
The EV9 offers a rear-wheel-drive option powered by a 150kW motor, delivering an impressive all-electric range of up to 541km based on WLTP standards. Alternatively, it comes as an all-wheel-drive variant powered by twin 141kW electric motors, presenting an all-electric range of 497km (WLTP). The AWD version is also available as the sporty GT-line model, which can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds and has a top speed of 200 km/h.
