During December, a particular domestic car model in South Korea saw a significant increase in sales – the Kia EV9, a large electric SUV. The EV9 sold 2,688 units in December 2023, making it the best-selling electric vehicle in the country for the month.
The surge in December sales of the Kia EV9 can be attributed to a promotional discount offered by Kia. Despite numerous pre-orders before its launch, the EV9 struggled with continuous sales declines after its market introduction in June.
Sales began at 1,334 units in June, dropped to 1,251 in July, and plummeted to 408 in August. Kia then initiated a discount of up to 30% for employees to clear its stock, which led to complaints from consumers who had paid full price earlier. Sales appeared to recover to around 1,000 units per month but fell sharply to 375 in November.
The discount on the Kia EV9 was exceptionally high for a domestic car. Depending on the trim, discounts of up to 20 million won ($15,200) were available, and with additional benefits like electric vehicle subsidies, the discount could reach 26 million won ($19,700).
This substantial discount reduced the starting price of the large SUV, originally priced from 73.37 million won ($56,000), to the 50 million won range ($38,000), significantly boosting consumer interest. As a result, the Kia EV9 achieved a remarkable 616% increase in sales with 2,688 units sold in December compared to November.
However, there are concerns for the coming year. The substantial discounts might reduce the number of consumers willing to pay full price for the EV9. Moreover, a slight reduction in electric vehicle subsidies is expected under this year’s policy.
The official prices for the Kia EV9 start at 73.37 million won ($56,000) for the rear-wheel drive ‘Air’ model and 78.16 million won ($59,450) for the ‘Earth’ model.
