KIA PHILIPPINES officially launched its new local battery electric vehicle offering called EV6 compact crossover on Monday, signaling its entry into the domestic EV market.

Manny A. Aligada, Kia Philippines president, said during the launch in Makati City on Tuesday that the new EV6 GT-Line would be priced at P3.788 million, inclusive of a portable charger, five-year or 160,000-kilometer vehicle warranty, and eight-year or 160,000-kilometer battery system warranty, whichever comes first.

He added that the EV6 will be initially available in four Kia dealerships, but will soon be available to the car brand’s 42 dealers across the country.

“The EV6 will be available in all 42 Kia dealers nationwide but we have initially assigned four dedicated Kia EV dealers located in New Manila in Quezon City, Alabang in Muntinlupa, Sto. Tomas, Batangas in South Luzon, and Pampanga in North Luzon,” Mr. Aligada said.

“These four dealers are fully equipped with tools and systems to handle any technical requirement you may have for Service, and its staff is fully trained by Kia Philippines. This full-service capability will be expanded to other dealers very soon,” he added.

Buyers of the EV6 will also enjoy five years of free preventive maintenance system and five years of free 24/7 roadside assistance.

Kia Philippines claims that the EV6 GT-Line can travel over 500 kilometers on a single charge with its long-range 77-kilowatt-hour high-voltage battery pack. The vehicle has an output of 229 PS and 350NM of torque.

The car brand added that maintaining the EV6 will also be cheaper since there would be no engine oil changes and replacement of oil filters, spark plugs, and other lubricants.

“It is estimated that you will spend about P25,000 for five years in maintaining an EV6, versus P110,000 maintenance for a similar-sized ICE car over five years,” Kia Philippines said.

Kia Philippines, a member of the Ayala Group of Companies, said that the EV6 will benefit from the group’s charging infrastructure.

“With charging options manufactured by Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. (part of the Ayala Group) and its partner Greenstrum, and an expanding charging system network provided by Ayala Land, all an environment-conscious owner has to do is get in and go for an exciting and worry-free drive,” Kia Philippines said.

The EV6 will be available in five colors: Moonscape, Snow White Pearl, Runway Red, Yacht Blue, and Aurora Black Pearl.

“We made sure to put the charging architecture in place long before the arrival of the EV6,” Ayala Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Cezar P. Consing said.

“Our strategically located charging stations are proof of our commitment to electrification. We are using the whole Ayala ecosystem to support the growth and adoption of EVs in the Philippines. We expect EV take-up to grow rapidly, and EVs to be the dominant transport technology in a few years,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave