Some Kia dealers are taking advantage of the highly-anticipated EV9 and price-gouging prospective customers.
According to CarsDirect, national dealer inventory data in the United States shows EV9 mark-ups of up to $7,000 over MRSP at multiple Kia dealers.
While some dealers are simply adding a market adjustment on top of the MRSP, other dealers seem to be pocketing the $3,750 Kia Custom Cash rebate, which Kia offers and adding a market adjustment on top.
This is not happening at all Kia dealers, but there have been reports of multiple dealers advertising EV9’s well above the MRSP.
Kia knew this could be a problem and sent a letter to dealers asking them not to add mark-ups. In fact, Kia was offering to pay dealers $2,000 for every EV9 delivery that went “smoothly.”
When asked about the current situation, a Kia spokesperson had this to say:
Kia America has emphasized to its dealers the importance of price transparency and encouraged dealers to refrain from imposing mark-ups over MSRP. We are pleased that the vast majority of our dealers have followed our recommendations.
This price gouging could be short-lived as Kia plans to ramp up EV9 production to meet the increased demands around the vehicle. But, until the market is met, dealers asking over MRSP could continue to be a problem, even with Kia’s best efforts.
