• Kia is preparing an electric sedan (to be named EV8), according to a document leaked online.
When Kia pulled the plug on its Stinger sedan after a brief existence on the market, many thought that was the end of the line for it, or at least in its existing iteration. Performance sedans have become a scarce commodity across the industry.
Now, however, there are reports that Kia is working on a new, fully electric high-performance sedan. The car is said to be codenamed GT1.
The reports trace back to a leaked document obtained and reported on by The Korean Car Blog. That document reveals the production schedule for the brand's next models. And in there, we have a replacement for the Stinger, set to take the EV8 name.
Some will remember reports to that effect floating around last summer, but it was all rumour, no evidence at that stage. Here, it's a little more concrete.
The car will be based on the Hyundai Group's upcoming electric platform (eM), an evolution of the E-GMP (Electric-Global Modular Platform) structure currently serving the EV6 and EV9 models. eM will also underpin other Hyundai Group models, such as the future Genesis GV90.
It’s believed the future EV8 will use a 113.2-kWh battery, which is significantly larger than the 99.8-kWh battery found with the new EV9. The Lucid Air is equipped with a 112-kWh battery, which allows it to offer a range of more than 800 km. We guess that Kia is aiming for a home run with the range of this future product.
The model's output would peak at 612 hp thanks to the presence of units of 268 hp at the front, 449 hp at the rear. It's a far cry from the 365 hp offered by the V6-powered Stinger.
That will make it Kia's most powerful model to date, as the current EV6 GT has a maximum output of 576 hp.
Of course, we expect the offering will also include lower-performance base versions.
Production of the EV8 could start by 2026, in South Korea. It remains to be seen if the company plans to assemble the car in North America, where the EV9 will be manufactured at a new plant scheduled to open in 2025 in the state of Georgia.
Production on U.S. soil is important for a model to qualify for the $7,500 in EV credits offered by the U.S government. Though on that front, the U.S. presidential election next November could be a game-changer if the Republicans regain control of the White House.