Kia Teases Off-Road EV9 and Electric Van Concepts For SEMA

by Carl Malek | October 30, 2024

Kia teases off-road EV9 and a mysterious electric van concept as the Korean car giant prepares to electrify the art of trail-busting at SEMA.

Kia is preparing to unveil a pair of concepts for this year’s SEMA event.

SEMA 2024 is shaping up to be a pivotal show for many automakers with wild custom vehicles providing attendees a glimpse not only into the creativity of engineers and designers but the vehicles also serving as a rolling test bed for future products including vehicle accessories and other custom touches. Kia has become an enduring presence at the event and has used it to show off its fair share of wild customs over the years.

This year’s event is no different with Kia using the 2024 iteration of the event to not only debut a customized version of the Kia EV9 electric SUV but also a mysterious electrified van concept as Kia attempts to show what customers could expect if they want to make an overlander out of an electrified vehicle.

EV9 concept’s nighttime tease leaves more questions than answers

Kia’s EV9 SEMA concept shares alot of its core DNA with the standard model.

The company’s teaser images leave little to the imagination with the company shooting both of its concepts at night. However, the EV9’s appearance does provide some hints into what the company is up to. The front fascia shares alot with the standard EV9 but the concept has additional lighting in the grill panel and a slender LED lightbar on the roof. The lower bumper also appears to be slightly different than the standard model but the nighttime darkness makes it difficult to discern finer details beyond the rough profile that’s faintly illuminated by the headlights.

Look for this EV9 to be purpose-built for trail running and it’s highly likely to see the EV debut with an upgraded suspension and bigger tires to allow the SUV to tackle tough obstacles and other inhospitable terrain. Expect accessories to play a prominent part in the concept’s design but until Kia chooses to release more teaser images of the concepts in daylight we have to wait and see what else the company has in store for the concept.

Mysterious van concept might be PV5

Kia’s second SEMA-bound concept is more mysterious but it could be a new version of the highly flexible PV5 concept van.

Kia’s second concept is more of a mystery, but some of the core elements on it suggest that we might be looking at a customized version of the PV5 which made its debut earlier this year at CES. The mysterious concept shares some core details with the original PV5 but like the EV9 accompanying it to SEMA, the version here appears to have been decked out with some rugged touches including the lightbar on the roof and the additional lighting on th ebumper.

Kia has said in the past that the PV5 was supposed to be an extremely flexible platform with the model offering multiple variations for customers to choose from. This concept might represent a new version that we have never seen before and could perhaps be meant to serve as a form of support vehicle for the EV9 with the PV having supplies and other gear in the event the EV9 gets in over its head out on the trail. It might also be a separate entity altogether with its own distinct theme but until Kia chooses to reveal more information, we can only guess at what the concept truly brings to the table beyond its obvious trail-seeking intentions.