It’s our sad duty to report that the writing is on the wall for the high-performance version of Kia’s all-electric EV6. The sizzling hot compact crossover will not return to the brand’s Canadian lineup for the 2025 model year.
The unfortunate development was first reported by Le Guide de l’Auto Web, and confirmed to AutoTrader by Kia spokesperson, Jennifer Szmilko, who added that "demand for the EV6 is more focused on the volume trims within the lineup," such as the Light, Wind, and Land trims.
The trim levels that remain will not be able to match the 2024 EV6 GT’s performance specs. The high-performance model featured two motors which zapped out a combined 576 hp and 545 lb-ft of torque. That allowed it to reach 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, while a 77.4 kWh battery pack allowed it to travel an estimated 351 km per charge.
What makes the news of the EV6 GT’s discontinuation even sadder for enthusiasts is that just south of the border, where Kia plans to continue selling it, the model is being improved for the 2025 model year. In the U.S., the model will make a whopping 641 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque and will get a bigger, 84 kWh battery pack.
Fortunately, Canadian fans of high-performance Korean electric vehicles (EVs) will still have an option to satisfy them. The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N features the above-mentioned 641 hp powertrain. Although its price is lofty (like the EV6 GT), the Ioniq 5 N features more evident performance aesthetics and is more intensely focused on track driving than the EV6 GT ever was, which may help the Hyundai find a niche in the market that the Kia never could, with its handsome but altogether more subdued look. Meanwhile, the torch of GT-branded Kia EVs will be carried on by, of all vehicles, the EV9 GT, which will make 501 hp and will be able to reach 100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds.
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