Electrify America expands customer charging agreement with Kia America to include new EV9 owners; 1 MWh free
08 December 2023
Electrify America and Kia America announced their charging agreement to provide 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of complimentary charging to first-time owners of the all-new, all-electric 2024 Kia EV9 three-row SUV EV.
Building on the multi-year relationship with Kia America regarding the EV6 GT charging agreement announced earlier this year, the EV9’s 1,000 kWh complimentary charging is redeemable at any Electrify America charging station across the country through the Electrify America app. The EV9 is the third Kia vehicle to include this complimentary Electrify America charging, along with Niro and EV6.
The EV9 is Kia's first all-electric three-row SUV model. From launch, the Kia EV9 will be available with two powertrain options. The standard configuration features a 76.1-kWh battery paired with a 160-kW (215-hp) rear-wheel-drive motor. An optional 99.8-kWh battery is available in a single-motor setup (201-hp), with an EPA-estimated 304-mile all-electric range or in a dual-motor, 283-kW (379-hp) all-wheel-drive configuration.
With a maximum DC charging rate of 236kW, the Kia EV9 supports fast charging with compatible hyper-fast DC chargers, like those on the Electrify America network, while its 11kW onboard charger is designed to ensure speedy Level 2 charging.
Kia EV9 owners will have three years from the date of purchase of their EV9 to use the 1,000 kWh of complimentary charging. New owners are encouraged to download the Electrify America mobile app to facilitate charging and payment, locate stations, or check the status of chargers.
Free charging should come with policies that encourage responsible use or these OEMs and EA are simply creating an avoidable tragedy of the commons.
If you are driving on a long trip and you have to wait an hour to charge at a site where locals are camping out and charging to 100%, you are going to have a pretty crummy experience.
These poorly conceived promotions only serve to highlight the superior performance of the Tesla experience. The Tesla Superchargers are not only vastly more plentiful and reliable, but Tesla is implementing sensible policies like capping fast charge sessions at 90% (the charge rate above 90% drops to ~10kW, which takes another 45 min to complete. It’s not worth waiting for unless you’re a miser and EA is giving you that last $1 worth of charge for free)
EA appears intent on driving their customer experience into the ground, with Kia assisting.
Posted by: electric-car-insider.com | 08 December 2023 at 10:00 AM