[ronfacciol]

I have finally been given a delivery date of 22 June for my white GTLine RWD.

 

[Bilbo]

I ended up sending an email to the CEO of KIA Oz(Damien Meredith) and the General Manager of Product Planning (Roland Rivero). I was asking that forthcoming EV6s be available with HDA2 and Kia connect etc. Anyway, although my inital email to customer care didnt seem to get a response, when I sent the email to the above using the "First initial last [email protected]" email address I got a response fairly quickly... Although it seems that one of the above managers basically shoved the email back down to customer service to send me a response.

Anyway they sent me this, which I gotta say is a bit dissapointing....

Hi Steven,

Thank you for contacting Kia Australia.

Firstly, thank you for your interest in EV6, Kia Australia’s first pure-electric vehicle and winner of Wheels Car of the Year 2022. We are excited for the new experience it offers our customers.

Kia Connect and Highway Driving Assist (HDA) are features we understand and appreciate many of our customers would like to see included in our model range. However, neither is currently available for EV6 and we cannot forecast if / when they may be available.

We would like to thank you for taking the time to reach out to us and provide your comments. These have been passed on for feedback purposes to the relevant departments and personnel.

For more information about EV6, please visit Kia EV6 | Electric Crossover SUV | Kia Australia.

If you wish to speak with a member of Kia Australia’s Customer Care Team anytime, please don’t hesitate to reach out on 131 542 (Option 4), or by reply e-Mail to [email protected].

Thank you
Cameron

I am annoyed because they say these items arent currently available in the EV6, when we know full well that they are sitting in a parts bin and being installed on overseas models.In the end they have me over a barrel as I will probably buy the car regardless, as its still an awesome bit of kit.

So moral of the story is, if you want to send an email to the executives it will probably get through. In fact I encourage you to do it, but unless we get a larger group bringing it up I dont expect any action.

 

[ronfacciol]

One version that I heard is that for KIA Connect to be implemented, KIA has to have agreement with the authorities in the various states about how to handle emergency calls. Apparently, overseas, KIA Connect automatically dials the emergency number (911, etc) if it detects a situation that it deems to be an emergency. A blown air-bag is an example. Apparently, the local authorities are not happy with that as there is the potential that the 000 switchboard could have to deal with situations that are not necessarily emergencies, without having a human being at the other end of the call to explain what is actually wrong. The 000 operator would then not be able to triage the call and would have to treat each of these calls as a priority. This could get progressively worse as more cars equipped with KIA connect are rolled out.
I am not sure how accurate this is - you would think that KIA could just disable the emergency call feature while agreement is being reached with the various state authorities.
Not sure what the grief is with HDA - could it be that there is still no agreement on autonomous driving in Australia ? Some features of HDA like automatic lane change might grate with the local authorities.
I am suspecting that the lack of these two features in Australia is more due to an absence of statutory agreement(s) rather than anything else.....

 

[unhelpfuladvice]

Other cars already offer app support (this is already going to be added to Hyundai and Kia just not on the cars we want). Why would the emergency call function be an issue? Just don't enabled if it is, I don't see how this would be a show stopper.

We also already have cars on our road with level 2 driving automony so this is not the issue. If anything, all of this is most likely due to component shortages and AUS/NZ simply getting the short end of the stick.

 

[Mitch]

Yay, finally got my RWD yesterday, very happy with my purchase

 

[Bilbo]

Yay, finally got my RWD yesterday, very happy with my purchase

Whoa!! She looks good in red!!

 

[Bilbo]

Other cars already offer app support (this is already going to be added to Hyundai and Kia just not on the cars we want). Why would the emergency call function be an issue? Just don't enabled if it is, I don't see how this would be a show stopper.

We also already have cars on our road with level 2 driving automony so this is not the issue. If anything, all of this is most likely due to component shortages and AUS/NZ simply getting the short end of the stick.

I am also inclined to agree with this. Not sure why Australia becomes a backwater whenever tech is involved.

 

[Mitch]

Whoa!! She looks good in red!!

Yes, loving the colour 😍 a real red

 

[unhelpfuladvice]

Well said.
Here's what I posted on the KIA website:

Hi there,
If possible, I would like to forward this message to your chief executive.
Sir,
I am soon getting an EV6. I made my choice after careful consideration, and given the money I will be spending, there were several other alternatives I could have got.
I would like request that the Australian spec cars that will be delivered in the first group be equipped with the hardware to run items like “Kia connect” and Highway Drive Assist (HDA2) similar to other countries that have already received this car.
Vehicles such as Tesla have similar functionality
At the moment Australians will be at a disadvantage to other overseas buyers of EV6 if this functionality is excluded.
Some reports say that these features will be offered in the first updated model of the EV6, but in doing so it will make the first cars delivered outdated.
This seems unnecessary to me as the hardware is currently available and able to be installed in the current EV6. It will probably be also available in the forthcoming Niro.
Many other people that are in line for the EV6 have a similar outlook to this, and would like the option of getting Kia Connect and HDA2 options on the new EV6.
The EV6 is a great car, and many of us who will be the first users would be KIA's best advocates to promote this model in the marketplace and convince other people to make the somewhat expensive transition to an EV.
Respectfully yours

I sent through a message as well asking for clarification on HDA2 and Kia Connect. Hopefully the more people sending this kind of feedback will put pressure on Kia to do something about it, though most certainly a majority of people walking into a dealership to look at and then order the car will not know anything about these features.

 

[buckgw]

Yay, finally got my RWD yesterday, very happy with my purchase

Mine is identical - pick up Monday (in Melbourne too)

 

[SpeedyDave]

I am also inclined to agree with this. Not sure why Australia becomes a backwater whenever tech is involved.

25 years of neo-liberalism will do this
Thankfully, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It will take a while but at least we now have a chance to catch up with the rest of the world.

Speaking of tech....... sequential indicators ? do we have them on the EV6 in Aus or not ? ( I would go and check mine but.... oh wait, it has not been built yet ! )

 

[unhelpfuladvice]

25 years of neo-liberalism will do this
Thankfully, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It will take a while but at least we now have a chance to catch up with the rest of the world.

Speaking of tech....... sequential indicators ? do we have them on the EV6 in Aus or not ? ( I would go and check mine but.... oh wait, it has not been built yet ! )

We do not! I think only Europe and Korea have them.

 

[NZ_EV]

I sent through a message as well asking for clarification on HDA2 and Kia Connect. Hopefully the more people sending this kind of feedback will put pressure on Kia to do something about it, though most certainly a majority of people walking into a dealership to look at and then order the car will not know anything about these features.

Hi,
i asked the same questions about HDA and Kia Connect KIA New Zealand. Here the answer:

Hi Christian, Thanks for your message and interest in EV6! I can confirm there are no plans to introduce either of these features in the NZ market on upcoming or existing models at this stage. Regards,​

Ixxx Dxxxx
Kia New Zealand

 

[Bilbo]

Hi,
i asked the same questions about HDA and Kia Connect KIA New Zealand. Here the answer:

Hi Christian, Thanks for your message and interest in EV6! I can confirm there are no plans to introduce either of these features in the NZ market on upcoming or existing models at this stage. Regards,​

Ixxx Dxxxx
Kia New Zealand

I guess I would be unhappy with that response as well. I'm suprised they didnt include a middle finger emoji with that response.

 

[SpeedyDave]

We do not! I think only Europe and Korea have them.

How about the active / matrix headlights ??

 

[SpeedyDave]

I am staggered that this new tech has been actively deleted from the AUS / NZ spec vehicles.

I would REALLY like to know the reasons why !

 

[NZ_EV]

I am staggered that this new tech has been actively deleted from the AUS / NZ spec vehicles.

I would REALLY like to know the reasons why !

I replied with the same question.
Here the Answer from the same person: (KIA NZ)

Hi Christian,

Thank you for your response.

Information surrounding local Kia pricing and specification decisions in New Zealand is commercially sensitive
and will not be disclosed in the public arena.

 

[NZ_EV]

Look at this:
MY23 Production starts in July 2022 - first deliveries in Fall 2022. All MY23 cars are coming with preconditioning and routing with charging
source:

I am german and i can confirm that the translation matches the screen shot images.
The KIA german spec sheet was also changed to Model Year 2023

 

[SpeedyDave]

I'll shoot an email off to Kia AUS ......

 

[unhelpfuladvice]

I replied with the same question.
Here the Answer from the same person: (KIA NZ)

Hi Christian,

Thank you for your response.

Information surrounding local Kia pricing and specification decisions in New Zealand is commercially sensitive
and will not be disclosed in the public arena.

It's just a generic response. I most likely will get the same thing. From their business point of view, they probably do not want people waiting for the refreshed model and not buying the current models on the market.