South Korean automaker Kia is possibly on track to follow EV giant Tesla with the introduction of an autonomous driving option package for its Kia EV6, which would reportedly be priced at around 20% of the cost of the entire car.
According to The Korean Car Blog and confirmed by owners in the Kia EV Forums, Kia has reportedly sent out a survey to current EV6 owners asking for opinions on possible changes they would like to see for the EV6.
Some of the questions are focused on aesthetic changes such as the possibility of a Special Edition model with black and gold wheels (image below), but of particular interest was the question asking owners whether they would be willing to pay extra for an autonomous driving package.
The questions also asked whether paying $US7,500 for a full self-driving option would be a reasonable price – which would put the added cost of such an option at around 20% of the total cost of the car in the United States.
If we were to assume that pricing would be around the same 20% range here in Australia, that would put the cost of a full self-driving option at an extra $A10,000 to $A15,000.
Given that the source of this information is a survey for current EV6 owners in the United States, there’s no official confirmation or additional information available.
Thus, the timing of such a roll-out is anyone’s guess – though other, more aesthetic questions in the survey could feasibly be rolled out as soon as the EV6’s mid-life facelift is due in around 2024.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
