Kia EV6 gets a massive 16% price hike as the South Korean automaker axes its most affordable model variant

While some automakers are exclusively targeting affluent buyers with their extremely expensive electric vehicles such as the new BMW i7 and the rumored top-end model of the sleek Porsche Taycan, the aspiring South Korean brand Kia managed to offer a much more reasonable price-performance ratio with the EV6 thus far. However, the popular electric car has now been hit with a considerable price increase in the United States.

The entry-level price for the Kia EV6 will effectively increase by US$7,100 since the automaker has decided to remove the base model called “Light” from the recently introduced 2023 model year. This particular version of the Kia EV6 was equipped with a smaller 58 kWh battery, which had a respectable EPA range rating of up to 232 miles per charge. This rear-wheel drive baseline model previously started at a reasonable US$42,695.

The new most-affordable Kia EV6 model variant, the so-called “Wind” trim, comes with a much larger 77.4 kWh battery which should allow for an EPA range of up to 310 miles per charge. This RWD model costs a whopping US$49,795; which already includes the inevitable US$1,295 destination charge. Therefore, EV buyers who are on a budget may want to explore the lower-priced Kia Niro EV as an alternative, which is now roughly US$10,000 cheaper than the sleek-looking but increasingly expensive Kia EV6.

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