Kia is expanding its only manufacturing plant in the US to make room for its first electric three-row SUV. The Kia EV9 will be the automaker’s first EV assembled in North America. Assembly will begin at its West Point, Georgia, plant next year.
Kia to build EV9 electric SUV at West Point, Georgia
Kia announced an over $200 million expansion Wednesday, creating nearly 200 additional jobs in the area.
The EV9 will be the fifth model assembled at its Georgia facility but the first all-electric vehicle to join the lineup. Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America, said the “EV9 has the potential to be another ‘game changer’ for Kia.” He added:
This will be the most sophisticated vehicle that we have ever built and will be a standout in the EV market and on the road. Best of all, it will be assembled in West Point, Georgia.
In March, Kia officially unveiled the EV9 electric SUV, garnering praise for its bold design and advanced features.
2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line (Source: Kia)2024 Kia EV9 (Source: Kia)
Meet Kia’s first EV set for assembly in the US
The EV9 is the largest electric car from Kia so far and its first three-row electric SUV. Kia says the EV9 is reshaping the company with a “bold vision for the new era of electrification.”
As such, the EV9 includes some of the latest in-vehicle technology, including Kia’s most advanced Highway Driving Pilot, OTA updates, onboard power generator functionality (V2L), and ultra-wideband-based Digital Key.
2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line (Source: Kia)2024 EV9 GT-Line (Source: Kia)
Despite the advancements, Kia is not stepping away from the segment, claiming the EV9 offers “true SUV capabilities.” These include 7.8-inch ground clearance, up to 81.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the first row, up to 5,000 lbs towing capacity, and available torque-vectoring dual-motor AWD.
Based on the Hyundai Motor Group’s 800-volt E-GMP platform (the same one used to power the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, and Kia EV6), the EV9 includes fast-charging capabilities, designed to go from 10% to 80% charge (adding 148 miles of driving range) in under 25 minutes.
Kia EV9 (Source: Kia)
The EV9 will be available in two powertrain options. The standard is a 76.1 kWh battery (fourth-generation) with a 215 hp (160 kW) motor. In addition, a 99.8 kWh battery pack will be offered with a single motor, targeting 300 miles range, or a dual-motor 379 hp torque-vectoring AWD configuration with 516 lb-ft of torque.
Kia is expected to begin assembling the EV9 at its West Point, Georgia, plant starting in the second quarter of 2024. The automaker began delivering the electric SUV to customers in South Korea last month, gathering 13,000 preorders in its first eight days on the market.
Although Kia has yet to release prices for the US market, we expect that, based on the first European prices, the EV9 will start around $65,000 to $70,000 for the larger battery pack and around $60,000 for the standard model.
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Hyundai is the latest carmaker offering significant discounts on electric vehicles in the UK. The Hyundai Electric Grant program offers up to £3,750 ($5,000) off popular EVs, including the Inster EV, IONIQ 5, and new IONIQ 9. And it’s not just the UK, Hyundai is launching deals in nearly every market.
Hyundai launches new EV grant program in the UK
Starting today, July 25, all Hyundai electric vehicles in the UK are eligible for the program. Hyundai’s EV grant offers buyers £3,750 ($5,000) off the 2025 Inster, the brand’s new entry-level electric SUV.
The savings are available across Hyundai’s entire EV lineup, with £1,500 ($2,000) in savings on the IONIQ 5, Kona Electric, and IONIQ 9.
“As the electric vehicle landscape continues to evolve, it is important that customers have complete clarity, choice and compelling value when making the switch to electric,” Ashley Andrew, president of Hyundai and Genesis UK, said on Friday.
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After launching the Inster EV and its flagship IONIQ 9 this year, Hyundai now offers a complete lineup ranging from entry-level to a three-row electric SUV.
The EV grant is available immediately across Hyundai’s UK dealer network, including for retail, Hyundai Affinity, or Contract Hire purchases.
Hyundai Inster EV (Source: Hyundai UK)
Until August 31, buyers can score an extra £500 ($671) off the Inster EV and Kona Electric through Hyundai’s Electrifying Summer promo.
Hyundai is also offering 24-hour test drives, allowing customers to try it before making a purchase. The Korean automaker follows other brands, including MG and Leapmotor, to offer discounts ahead of the UK’s new EV grant program.
Hyundai Kona Electric N Line (Source: Hyundai)
According to new registration data from Jato, Hyundai was the 10th best-selling EV brand in Europe in the first half of 2025.
The Inster EV, priced from £23,505 ($31,500), cracked the top 20 most registered EVs last month with over 3,300 units sold. Hyundai Motor, including Kia’s share of the EV market, rose from 12.6% to 19.1% in H1 2025.
Hyundai is offering significant savings on electric vehicles not just in the UK, but essentially in every market, including the US, right now.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
Following the launch of an aggressive sales promotion this summer, Hyundai is now offering 0% interest for 60 months on its top-selling SUVs. The savings are available on new EV models, including the 2025 IONIQ 5 and 2026 IONIQ 9 (see our review of it).
2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 (Source: Hyundai)
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5, which now offers up to 318 miles of range and a NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers, is listed for lease at just $179 per month. That’s about the lowest national offer for an electric SUV currently available.
Both the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9 are built at Hyundai’s new EV plant in Georgia, so they still qualify for the $7,500 US tax credit. However, that’s set to end at the end of September.
Ready to try one out for yourself? You can use our links below to find offers on Hyundai’s electric vehicles in your area.
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Tesla is stripping all meaning from the word “Robotaxi” as it plans to expand its supposedly autonomous ride-hailing program to the Bay Area as soon as this weekend, albeit with a driver in the driver’s seat.
Tesla is not yet ready to launch a level 4 autonomous driving system, but Elon Musk needs Tesla to achieve a win in self-driving after years of failed promises.
They decided to launch “Robotaxi”, a ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, but due to the automaker not being ready to deploy level 4 autonomy, it had to add a safety monitor in the passenger front seat at all times.
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That passenger has access to controls capable of stopping the vehicle at all times, which is similar to how Tesla’s consumer version of ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ works. In short, it’s basically ‘Tesla Supervised Full Self-Driving’, but with the supervisor moving from the driver’s seat to the front passenger’s seat.
Those supervisors have already had dozens of interventions over just 7,000 miles in Austin over the last month.
Now, Tesla is looking to launch its ‘Robotaxi’ in the Bay Area. Rumors are that it could be as soon as this weekend.
However, during Tesla’s earnings call this week, Tesla’s head of self-driving, Ashok Elluswamy, confirmed that it will be with “a person in the driver’s seat”:
“The next is the San Francisco Bay Area. We are working with the government to get approval here, and meanwhile, we will launch the service with a person in the driver’s seat just to expedite while we wait for regulatory approval.”
To be clear, this is no different than an Uber driver who owns a Tesla with FSD picking you up at the airport. Tesla is looking to launch an Uber service in the Bay Area with employees at the wheel who use FSD, and it is going to call it ‘Robotaxi’.
It’s no more than a distraction from the fact that Tesla can’t deliver a level 4 autonomous driving system.
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Nexamp just pulled off something that could speed up clean energy deployment across the US – and potentially lower costs for everyone. The Boston-based solar developer just finished building three new solar farms in Maine and Massachusetts. But instead of waiting on the utility to handle all the grid hookup work, Nexamp did it themselves.
That might not sound groundbreaking at first, but in the world of renewable energy, it’s a pretty big deal. Normally, utilities are in charge of any grid upgrades and interconnection work needed before a new solar project can start sending power to homes and businesses. That process can be very slow and expensive.
Nexamp’s new approach, called “self-performance,” flips the script. It lets developers take on some of that work, like ordering and installing equipment, so they don’t have to sit around waiting for the utility to schedule it. That means solar farms can get online faster, which gets clean power to the grid sooner and keeps project costs in check.
The three projects that kicked off this self-performance effort are:
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Hartland Solar – 1.2 MW DC in Hartland, ME
Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MW DC in New Braintree, MA
Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MW DC, also in New Braintree
Nexamp didn’t go rogue – they worked closely with Central Maine Power and National Grid on the interconnection designs, safety standards, and technical specs. But by handling the actual procurement and construction, Nexamp had way more control over cost, timing, and supply chain headaches.
“Self-performance lets us take much greater control over interconnection procurement and construction,” said Daniel Passarello, Nexamp’s lead consulting engineer for grid integration. “We can move much of the interconnection work forward at the same time as the solar farm build instead of treating them as separate. That helps us bring projects online faster and stay closer to budget.”
It also helps that Nexamp already has solid relationships with suppliers. Instead of going through multiple layers of utility procurement, they can go straight to the source, fast.
That kind of streamlining is exactly what the solar industry needs right now. Community solar is booming – as of the end of 2024, nearly 8 gigawatts of it have been installed across the US, according to the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and that number is expected to almost double by 2030. But bottlenecks in the interconnection process slow things down.
Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs at SEIA, called Nexamp’s move a step in the right direction. “We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand,” she said. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”
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