Kia delays US launch of EV9 GT
The Hyundai-owned brand confirmed the news to Car and Driver magazine, stating that the 2026 374kW performance version of the EV9 SUV is “delayed until further notice” as a result of “changing market conditions” in the US. It’s the second new electric Kia to be postponed in the US, following the delay of the EV4 sedan in October.
The exact reasons for the delay are unclear, but the expiry of the federal tax credit for EVs appears to be the main culprit; hindering Kia’s progress in the US in several areas. For example, in October, the US market launch of the EV4 Fastback was also indefinitely postponed. Now it seems that the EV9 GT faces the same treatment; what would’ve been Kia’s top-of-the-range flagship now seems unlikely to make it to the US at all.
This is despite recent indications that tensions between Korean automakers and the US government were easing. While the EV9 is manufactured in the US state of Georgia, the GT version would have been imported by South Korea and face US tariffs. Now, the US and South Korea signed a trade agreement back in October 2025 encompassing a reduction in tariffs on Korean cars from 25 to 15 percent.
However, this seemingly hasn’t been enough to cement a US launch of the EV9 GT – despite its high spec and size, which are otherwise well-suited to the US market. The GT version has an edge of 91 kW over the EV9 GT-Line, as well as a tuned chassis, electronic damper control system, and a limited-slip differential including torque vectoring and simulated gear changes. According to the manufacturer, this 2.7-ton beast can sprint from zero to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds as a result, hitting its electronic limiter at 220km/h.
Thankfully, the EV9 GT version is still available elsewhere in the world: in September, Kia opened order books for it in both the UK and South Korea, with deliveries scheduled for 2025.
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