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The Kia EV6 is the first major salvo the Korean automaker has fired into the electric vehicle market. The stylish, futuristic SUV boasts long range and solid performance, and now, Kia is looking to sweeten the deal further. Kia will offer new owners 1,000 kilowatt-hours of free charging across the Electrify America network, as reported by CarScoops.
The program gives new owners of a Kia EV6 a full three years after the date of purchase to use the charging credits. Customers need only to create an Electrify America account and use an enrolment code provided by Kia to access the 1,000 kilowatt-hours of complimentary charging.
Fitted with the 77.4 kWh battery, one would expect around 13 full charges if ignoring efficiency in the calculation. Realistically, with EVs typically using from 10 to 15% more energy to charge than actually ends up in the battery, you’d expect closer to 11-12 full charges from the 1,000 kWh credit.
The big battery Kia EV6 gets from 274 to 310 miles of range, depending on if you’re driving the AWD or RWD model. Thus, from 11-12 full charges, you could expect to get something like 3400 to 3700 miles of driving out of 1,000 kWh of charging credit. Kia’s figures suggest 3,500 to 4,000 miles of range is expected; with slightly more efficient charging than the numbers used in our calculation, this is readily achievable.
Electrify America maintains the largest DC charging network in the US. The company also boasts many high-speed 350 kW fast chargers which cut charging times down significantly. With its 800-volt battery architecture, the Kia EV6 can take full advantage of these facilities. The EV6 can go from a 10% to 80% state of charge in just 18 minutes with a 350 kW charger, good for 217 miles of range, depending on conditions.
While it’s a long way from the free Supercharger access Tesla used to provide, it’s an offer that will likely be appreciated with many customers who are getting familiar with EV charging out on the road for the first time. Coupled with the fact that many owners regularly charge at home, the credits could go a long way for owners using the Electrify America network only on longer trips out of town. Expect similar offers to become commonplace tie-ins from dealers looking to boost EV sales in future.
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