New spy shots confirm Kia EV6’s facelift with EV9 design cues

Kia’s range of EV-badged electric cars is growing rapidly and the first model to use this nomenclature is set to gain a facelift in 2024. Now we’ve caught it testing for the first time, revealing some of its design secrets. 

Given this spy shot is the first time we’ve spotted the updated EV6 testing on the road, a full reveal isn’t expected until the middle of 2024. Pricing shouldn’t stray too far from the current £45,000 entry point with a hot GT model commanding around £63,000. 

This year we’ve seen Kia rapidly expand its all-electric lineup. Alongside the Soul EV and new Niro EV, Kia has revealed the EV5 SUV plus two concept cars in the EV4 four-door saloon and the EV3 small SUV. Earlier in the year we saw the range-topping seven-seat EV9 launch as well. In preparing the revised EV6, Kia also has to consider its sibling firm Hyundai, which is readying the launch of its facelifted Ioniq 5 - a car that shares the same architecture as the Kia. 

Kia has already confirmed to Auto Express that the updated EV6 will borrow design elements from the new EV9 to generate a more familiar face across its EV range. We recently published exclusive images of the Kia EV6 facelift that preview how the car could look.

Although this test car features heavy camouflage, we can see the headlights have changed shape slightly and we expect them to follow the form of the thinner LED lights of the EV9. In a bid to improve aerodynamics and unlock some extra range we could see the front bumper change shape, too. Down the side we can also see that a new design of diamond-cut alloy wheels has arrived.

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The rear shouldn’t drastically change with the EV6 retaining its bold sloping roofline and pronounced ridge across the bootlid. Newer EV models from Kia utilise a different LED rear light signature so it’ll be interesting to see how this affects the facelifted EV6. 

The EV6 will continue on the E-GMP architecture found on the EV9 and upcoming EV4 and EV5. The platform is able to cater for 99.8kWh in the EV9 but this isn’t likely to find its way over to the EV6 due to size and weight. The EV6 will probably keep its 77.4kWh battery with Kia finding efficiency boosts in the aerodynamics to boost its maximum 328-mile range.

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