Why would that be the case? That makes no sense at all. That’s like saying an S class (not a resale value hero by any stretch) will be worth the same as a used Fiat 500 when it’s 5 yrs old.
Somehow people don’t seem to understand that not all EVs are the same.
Appreciating the debate, here. It’s what’s been running through my head for some time solo, so it’s good to see other perspectives.
Only info I have been able to wring out of dealers is the GTs are not in transit; they can only “see 3 months out”. So if any 2025 GTs make it, it’ll be October or later. At which point, why even have a 2025 model or just call it 2026? (Admittedly I don’t know details or care much about how brands do “years”.) How incentivized do we think a very late-breaking 2025 may be?
Admittedly “1st gen Leaf” instead of just “Leaf of the same age” may have been a bit hyperbole but like… I’m not so sure that won’t be the case. Maybe “Chevy Bolt of the same age” is a better comparison.
I think the reason I was thinking that is… a Leaf/Bolt, while being hard to charge and short range, is ultimately an efficient electric hatchback with virtually zero known reliability issues (outside of general maintenance, general pack health, and the Bolt battery recall). An S class holds value because of the prestige AND the implicit guarantee “I can get (expensive) parts for repairs if I need them, and I’m not likely gonna have such a catastrophic failure I can’t fix it”. Plus, if you look at Autotrader listing prices for 6-7 year old C300s (MSRP-adjusted) with higher miles, they ARE actually only 2-3 thousand dollars above Fiat 500 prices of the same years.
Meanwhile, maybe I’m blowing ICCU out of proportion, but ICCU immobilizes the car once it fails, and Kia/Hyundai isn’t even consistently able (either by negligence or incompetence) to keep new-ish cars with failures under short lease terms on the road without a long wait for parts. Unless a proper recall happens and this gets resolved (contrary to Kia/Hyundai’s history with, erm, gas engines), I expect values to adjust accordingly, hence my possibly hyperbolic projection.
But I digress… anyway. Back on topic. Regardless of whether they are in transit, I read today in C&D that 2025 GTs aren’t eligible for the $7500 EV tax credit due to being assembled in Korea. (All other trims including the GT-Line are US-built and are OK.) https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a65124782/2025-kia-ev6-gt-test/
That would probably screw over any reasonable leasing prices for GTs (vs. say, Ioniq 5Ns) unless Kia suddenly decides to eat most/all of the difference anyway.
Assembly location is immaterial to the leasing bank claiming the $7,500 under section 45 of the IRA since its inception and as of today.
OK thank god on that one, my b for not reading then.
There are two open recalls at least on 2022-2024 Kia EV6s (any trim):
But it seems that complaints received by the NHTSA are dropping year over year:
A local “wholesale” dealer has a number of EV6s with lemon titles, at this point, which is helpful to see what the manufacture-repurchase Carfax service records look like for the ICCU issue and what happens to those where state lemon laws triggered a vehicle swap for the buyer.
Yeah so basically Kia issued those first recalls to acknowledge the basic problem and they issued software to “correct” the problem by adding clearer warnings for failure + throttling AC charging to prevent ICCU failure (AFAIK). However the problem happens after your ICCU pops - replacement parts can sometimes be delayed up to months and/or involve buybacks, although timing seems to be inconsistent across dealers.
The issue is, Kia/Hyundai haven’t issued updated part numbers, described the actual failure, or prescribed programs to pre-emptively start replacing/repairing ICCUs beyond basic throttling, like GM did with the Bolts. I’m not saying that should stop (or not) anyone from buying an EV6 but as the value of the car goes down, so do buyers’ tolerance for month-long repairs, and given the lack of transparency idk how this will play out (especially given Lemon Law expiration on older cars).
Thank you, that was my read on it as well but it’s very helpful to hear it from others. Full ownership seems like >1% risk unless the rate of ICCU failures on 2025s remains low.
In theory failures follow a bathtub curve, so the majority of failures SHOULD occur within the first 1-2 years of usage until the useful life of the product (supposedly 10 years) starts approaching… but we’ll see I guess.
