Date for UK Kia EV6 deliveries confirmed, but still a long wait for the fast GT model

The first Kia EV6 electric cars will arrive with UK customers week commencing October 25, 2021, making good on the firm's commitment to...

The first Kia EV6 electric cars will arrive with UK customers week commencing October 25, 2021, making good on the firm's commitment to deliver the first of its new EV this month.

Kia has already received 1,500 orders for the EV6, and it expects to be able to deliver 1,000 of those before the end of 2021. 

Despite the global chipset shortage and ongoing supply chain issues, Kia is on track to hit its annual shipment target of 90,000 vehicles.

That's a considerable uptick from 2020, where Kia had 70,000 new vehicle registrations in the UK, which was hampered by the pandemic. 

Kia UK President, Paul Philpott, said "We knew there would be demand [after lockdown ended]. The last six months have been boom time. 

"We're on track for 90,000 vehicles sold in 2021. Our Q2 and Q3 were record quarters and we are now at 5% market share [in the UK]."

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Fastest EV6 still a year away

Three trim levels are currently available to order with the entry-level 'EV6 Air' joined by the 'GT-Line' and 'GT-Line S' - but the flagship offering is still a year away.

Kia made a splash towards the start of 2021, boasting that the EV6 beat a Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini in a drag race. The asterisk against that feat is the car used was the EV6 GT - a car with a 0-62mph time of just 3.5 seconds.

However, the fastest EV6 won't arrive in the UK until Q4 2022, meaning it's still a year away from landing on British shores.

Its performance is considerably quicker than the 5.2 second AWD (all-wheel drive) GT-Line offering - although that's still no slouch.

The Kia EV6 GT will be pricey though. While the price hasn't been revealed, it will cost more than the current top-of-the-range GT-Line S, which starts at £51,945 for the AWD version.

With a high price tag, the EV6 GT will find itself up against serious competition from the big names in automotive industry - we'll have to wait and see if it can compete come next year.

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