Kia delays EV9 production ramp-up in the US

Kia is not yet ramping up production of its flagship EV9 in the US to wait for locally assembled batteries, according to a senior executive at the manufacturer. Officially, production started at the end of May.

The Kia EV9 is a seven-seater premium SUV with 800-volt architecture based on the Hyundai Group’s E-GMP platform. Since the end of May, the model has been in production not only in South Korea, but also in the USA – at the company’s existing plant in West Point. Theoretically at least, as production there has apparently been running on a small scale so far.

Steve Center, COO of Kia America, explained to Automotive News that Kia is currently waiting to ramp up US production of the electric SUV in order to obtain the batteries required for production from the USA in the spring. The background to this is that the EV9 will only then qualify for the full US tax credit of 7,500 dollars.

This is despite the fact that Kia actually has two US production locations in mind for the EV9. The background to this is that, in addition to the existing site in West Point, a pure electric car plant of the Hyundai Motor Group is currently being completed in Georgia. The factory, called Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), is located in Bryan County and is expected to produce up to 300,000 Hyundai, Kia and Genesis electric cars and batteries per year. This includes the EV9. According to COO Centre, although operations at the new plant are scheduled to start with the Ioniq 5 in October, battery cell production near HMGMA (together with LG Energy Solution) will be delayed by about a year, “so initial vehicles will be eligible to receive only a partial $3,750 credit.”

As reported, the South Korean company is planning another battery cell factory with SK On. This will not be built in Bryan County, but in Bartow County – in the north-west of Georgia near Atlanta. The production capacity of this factory is not yet known. However, it is scheduled to open in the second half of 2025.

It therefore remains unclear where the local batteries that Kia is currently waiting for at the EV9 production facility in West Point are to come from ‘next spring’. COO Centre is not more precise at this point. However, the company’s own battery projects with LGES and Sk On will probably not result in the first own products until later next year, if at all.

autonews.com (paywall)