The hottest version of Kia’s electric crossover just vanished from American showrooms, and the culprit is a mix of import taxes and an electric vehicle market that’s cooled off in a big way. If you had your heart set on the 641-hp EV6 GT, the 2026 model year isn’t happening stateside.

• Kia has indefinitely delayed the 2026 EV6 GT in the U.S., blaming tariffs and weak EV demand.
• The GT is built in South Korea, so it faces a 25% import tariff, unlike the Georgia-built EV6 trims.
• Overall EV6 sales cratered roughly 60% in the first two months of 2026.

Why the Flagship GT Got Parked

The 2026 Kia EV6 GT has been “delayed until further notice” in the United States, a Kia spokesperson told Road & Track. The hot EV is already gone from the automaker’s American online configurator, and a quick look at dealer inventories across the country shows no new 2025 EV6 GT units currently in stock.

The reason comes down to where the car is built. Kia assembles the standard EV6 in the U.S., skirting the tariffs. The GT, however, comes from Korea, where a 25 percent import tax now applies. That math turns a $65,295 car into a tough sell. Adding that kind of premium to an already pricey performance EV would shove it well past what the current market is willing to pay.

A Performance EV That Punches Above Its Weight

The GT isn’t a trim-package exercise. Its dual-motor all-wheel-drive system produces 641 hp in launch control mode, placing it among the quickest electric vehicles in its class. The high-performance version of the SUV was expected to gain more grunt with ratings of 641 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque, bumps of 65 hp and 23 lb-ft over the outgoing model.

Critics loved it, too. The Kia EV6 GT won the under-$100,000 category in Road & Track’s 2024 Performance EV of the Year competition, a legitimate credential. Shoppers looking for this level of speed at a sub-luxury price now have fewer places to turn, and a visit to a Kia dealership will only yield the regular EV6 lineup for the foreseeable future.

EV Demand Is Sliding, and Not Just for Kia

Tariffs are only half the story. Demand for the EV6 dropped 53 percent in February versus the same month last year, and the EV9 slid 40 percent. Sales of the EV6 as a whole have been rough, to say the least, after the $7,500 federal tax credit went out the window late last year. In this year’s first two months, Kia sold just 1,140 EV6s in the U.S., less than half compared to the same period a year earlier.

The GT’s fate isn’t the only Korea-built Kia casualty. Kia is also postponing the U.S. launch of two other electric models: the compact electric sedan called EV4 and the smaller EV3 hatchback. Sister brand Hyundai is going through similar turbulence. The automaker is axing nearly every trim of the Ioniq 6 for 2026, following a 77 percent sales decline year-over-year. Only the all-new Ioniq 6 N will be sold stateside in 2026.

What Performance EV Shoppers Can Do Now

If you want a 641-hp EV6 GT, the used market is your best bet. Low-mileage 2025s will likely hold value better than usual, since unless Kia decides to build the EV6 GT in the U.S., it’s uncertain when or if the high-performance EV will return. It’s also unclear whether the EV6 GT or the regular Ioniq 6 will come back to showrooms here for the 2027 model year. Most automakers that are delaying EVs as a result of tariffs have done so indefinitely, likely to wait out evolving rates.

Looking for fresh performance-EV metal? Its absence doesn’t clear the field entirely. The Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and Rally editions remain in play. Hyundai’s upcoming Ioniq 6 N is another option for buyers who want similar E-GMP hardware with a track-ready twist, and GM’s Chevy Blazer EV SS targets the same hot-crossover niche.

Where the EV6 GT Story Goes From Here

The EV6 GT’s American timeout captures the squeeze hitting imported EVs right now. Tariffs raise the sticker, the disappearance of the $7,500 federal credit saps demand, and automakers are making cold calculations about which models earn their shelf space. Kia’s U.S.-built EV6 trims keep the nameplate alive, but the sharpest tool in the box is benched. For enthusiasts, that means hunting down remaining 2025s, shopping cross-town rivals, or waiting to see whether the next political and market cycle brings the GT back home.