KIA EV9

[Sal Collaziano]

How many of our Telluride owners are considering the new KIA EV9 electric SUV? Anyone have one reserved yet?

 

[scottw324]

Nope. I would consider a hybrid Telluride (not PHEV), but not full electric.

 

[2020Telly]

Official information is due out 3/15.

 

[Tellmeride]

It's a JOKE with these $5k+ markups. All the supposed savings of going electric vs gas is completely negated and then some. LOL, no thanks.

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[McMoo]

I’m going to consider it to replace our Model 3 but if the leaked specs are accurate it’s a non-starter. Not enough range for the price.

 

[2020Telly]

It's a JOKE with these $5k+ markups. All the supposed savings of going electric vs gas is completely negated and then some. LOL, no thanks.

The markups are a supply vs demand thing. People pay what they want in free market capitalism. If you don’t like the price that just means someone else is willing to pay more than you for this stage in the supply and demand. The way I see it, electric costs less to manufacture and the battery sometimes costs as much as 50% of the manufacturing costs. As supply increases and battery efficiencies and costs improve, there is more room to slash prices. You can’t do that with ICE because the margin is more fixed. There is the ongoing cost to own and maintain the vehicle to consider in addition to the fuel.

Gas or electric, sticker shock and markups will always be a thing. Look at the average new car price in the US in 2021 as compared to 2023, it’s something like a 30% difference. The difference is that when the manufacturing costs are lower, the buyer will pay less when the supply goes up and the prices get reset to a newer low because of competition. We just haven’t seen real competition in gas cars for a long time. When was the last time Camry or Accord saw slashed prices and everyone else had to adjust? Compare that to Tesla slashing by as much as 20% and then rumored to be working on a $25k EV. Everyone else has to adjust.

 

[scottw324]

The markups are a supply vs demand thing. People pay what they want in free market capitalism. If you don’t like the price that just means someone else is willing to pay more than you for this stage in the supply and demand. The way I see it, electric costs less to manufacture and the battery sometimes costs as much as 50% of the manufacturing costs. As supply increases and battery efficiencies and costs improve, there is more room to slash prices. You can’t do that with ICE because the margin is more fixed. There is the ongoing cost to own and maintain the vehicle to consider in addition to the fuel.

Gas or electric, sticker shock and markups will always be a thing. Look at the average new car price in the US in 2021 as compared to 2023, it’s something like a 30% difference. The difference is that when the manufacturing costs are lower, the buyer will pay less when the supply goes up and the prices get reset to a newer low because of competition. We just haven’t seen real competition in gas cars for a long time. When was the last time Camry or Accord saw slashed prices and everyone else had to adjust? Compare that to Tesla slashing by as much as 20% and then rumored to be working on a $25k EV. Everyone else has to adjust.

Let me know when the EV9 gets to about $40K and I’ll consider at that time. I keep my cars for 10 years so if I’m going to have a balloon payment late in the car’s life for a new battery, I’m not paying $60-70K up front, then another $14K+ later. Any savings from charging and lower maintenance is lost at that point, not to mention the amount of personal time lost charging every ~200 miles.

 

[FeGee3]

I want to go electric but I cannot fathom the upfront costs right now. Through my job I need to have a new car every 5 years so paying so much is just outrageous. I wish the Telly would go Hybrid like the new Grand Highlander. That is more realistic for me and a lot people I know who live nearby in the cold Northeast where battery loss in the cold as well as lack of charging infrastructure is a real hurdle to going full EV. And yes I do somewhat regularly drive 400+ miles in a day, so the range on these EVs is crippling. Who has time to just stop and charge for 30 minutes? Until they can make charging to >80% in <10minutes with a range of >350mi/charge and a price tag <$40,000 then no thank you. I can appreciate that people elsewhere or with different needs finds EVs to be a deal, but not for me just yet.

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[McMoo]

A telluride and model 3 is a great combo for us right now. Save gas by mostly using the model 3 for in town, and have the telluride for long distance. The model 3 is pretty seamless on road trips though. The Tesla network just works, unlike CCS and EA, or other providers that have issues. That’s my other concern with the EV9.

 

[vinylhaircut]

Lots of good points in this thread. It's just a wee bit too early for a full EV right now for me. But things are changing fast and I'm not the type to put my head in the sand and hang on to the past for too long. Before I retired in 2020, I was working with one of the major American auto makers. It wasn't public at the time, but virtually all of their R&D was already going into EVs. So many technology advances are on the horizon now. By the time I'm ready to replace my Telluride, things will look a LOT different.

Economics are also just one issue. To some, it's the only thing that matters. To others, additional factors like emissions and other environmental concerns will play a role in the decision as well.

There was one day - and it wasn't that long ago - when I *never* would have thought I'd ever consider a Kia of any kind. Now I happily drive a Telluride. So I'm going to learn my lesson and just watch the EV market evolve until the time is right to jump in. At first, it'll probably just something small to pair with the Telluride, but at some point it seems inevitable that a Telluride-like EV form factor vehicle will win me over in the future. Just a question of when.

 

[FeGee3]

Lots of good points in this thread. It's just a wee bit too early for a full EV right now for me. But things are changing fast and I'm not the type to put my head in the sand and hang on to the past for too long. Before I retired in 2020, I was working with one of the major American auto makers. It wasn't public at the time, but virtually all of their R&D was already going into EVs. So many technology advances are on the horizon now. By the time I'm ready to replace my Telluride, things will look a LOT different.

Economics are also just one issue. To some, it's the only thing that matters. To others, additional factors like emissions and other environmental concerns will play a role in the decision as well.

There was one day - and it wasn't that long ago - when I *never* would have thought I'd ever consider a Kia of any kind. Now I happily drive a Telluride. So I'm going to learn my lesson and just watch the EV market evolve until the time is right to jump in. At first, it'll probably just something small to pair with the Telluride, but at some point it seems inevitable that a Telluride-like EV form factor vehicle will win me over in the future. Just a question of when.

Such a good and rational way of looking forward. Whether we say it or not I think there are more of us that share your mentality than will let on.

I am an environmental professional so the idea of EVs is appealing at its core, but fundamentally EVs are right now still a vanity thing (if you are looking at EVs versus gasoline vehicles from a total emissions standpoint). So as much as I would want one I do not think the cradle-to-grave on an EV is currently any more green than a gasoline vehicle.

As you pointed out, and I think at this point it is common knowledge with a majority of manufacturing companies, huge efforts are being put into EV tech and we are now along for the ride. At some point we will no longer have the choice of buying anything except an EV, so I just hope that when that day comes the infrastructure, the range, the up front cost, and the battery types/issues will have come on leaps and bounds from where they are now.