Kia to invest $200 million in Georgia plant, build EV9 SUV in 2024

Just to move away from the article, I want to make a comment about the car itself.

Over the 2010s, the SUVs were really at the point where they all looked like totally generic boring blobs. Just an shape. Souless and dull. All the same. You'd really struggle to pick a stand out one out of a line up of Vauxhall, Citroen, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, VW etc. There of course was some brands like Porsche, BMW and Audi which were different, but they were genuine evolutions of an already pretty timeless and classic look.

Then Ford and Hyundai came to the table with some absolutely great striking and honestly futuristic designs to kick off their EV range a couple of years ago with the 2020 F-series and Tucsons respectively and by extension the IONIQ ranges. Not to mention the absolute beauty of the Rivian.

And now everyone is doing the same. Rather than look to find an individual and unique design language, everyone copies the pioneer (most times). With the rare exception of the marques who have the confidence to go their own way (a-la BMW, Porsche, Volvo).

Anyway, there's my totally off topic 2p on the matter.

9 comments

The U.S. State
- Thanks, I only clicked because my question was "Which Georgia?"
- Yeah, I really could’ve gone either way with this one. Thanks.
Just to move away from the article, I want to make a comment about the car itself.
Over the 2010s, the SUVs were really at the point where they all looked like totally generic boring blobs. Just an shape. Souless and dull. All the same. You'd really struggle to pick a stand out one out of a line up of Vauxhall, Citroen, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, VW etc. There of course was some brands like Porsche, BMW and Audi which were different, but they were genuine evolutions of an already pretty timeless and classic look.
Then Ford and Hyundai came to the table with some absolutely great striking and honestly futuristic designs to kick off their EV range a couple of years ago with the 2020 F-series and Tucsons respectively and by extension the IONIQ ranges. Not to mention the absolute beauty of the Rivian.
And now everyone is doing the same. Rather than look to find an individual and unique design language, everyone copies the pioneer (most times). With the rare exception of the marques who have the confidence to go their own way (a-la BMW, Porsche, Volvo).
Anyway, there's my totally off topic 2p on the matter.
Does this help qualify them for some of the Inflation Reduction Act credits, or is that tied specifically to where the battery materials are sourced from?
- Its about final assembly location. This will allow the EV9 to be eligible for it.
  
  Smart on KIA, then.
Kias are such dogshit cars man, avoid buying one if you can TRUST ME.