Kia, part of Hyundai Motor Group, has secured a US design patent for what seems to be a lifted, off-road version of the EV9 three-row electric SUV, according to a filing first uncovered by CarBuzz.
US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) records show patent US D1.138.878 S was granted on August 4, 2026, under application number 29/990-457.
Hyundai Motor Company — which held 35.2% of Kia as of 2025 — and Kia Corporation appear as joint applicants and assignees, both listed in Seoul.
Sung-Wook Kim and Kenneth Chang, both listed in Irvine, California, are named as inventors.
Among cited references for this model is a November 5, 2024, Car and Driver article on a EV9 ADVNTR concept, which Kia revealed at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas that month and could now be reviving.
The patent does not use the ‘ADVNTR’ name, calling it a “motor car” instead.
Kia Design Center America, the brand’s design team in Irvine, California, created the concept.
Lifted, Rack-Equipped EV9
A design patent protects how a product looks, not how it works.
Accordingly, the filing contains a single claim covering “the ornamental design for a motor car as shown and described,” with no technical specification, powertrain data or dimensions.
Six figures carry the substance of the patent.
According to the document’s description, the figures show the vehicle in a front perspective view, a front view, a rear view, left and right side views, and a top view.
Drawings depict an EV9-derived body riding on large, aggressively treaded tires, framed by dark wheel-arch cladding.
A full-length roof rack with slatted cross members covers most of the roof in the top view.
Front views show a reworked lower fascia with a dark, skid-plate-style section, while both side views show a dark sill treatment running between the wheel arches.
Those features track the concept Kia showed in 2024.
Kia’s official concept page describes the EV9 ADVNTR as having reinforced rocker panels, a rugged tire and wheel combination, and a custom roof rack able to carry luggage containers or roof-mounted tents.
The concept also featured a 3-inch lift over the standard EV9, according to Kia. Media reports at the time noted all-terrain tires, extra driving lights, a more rugged front bumper and recovery hooks.
Korean Filing Came Before Public Debut
Patent records show the design’s paper trail began before the concept went public.
Hyundai and Kia claimed priority from Korean design application 30-2024-0039042, filed on September 30, 2024, about five weeks before the SEMA reveal.
Both companies filed the US application on February 21, 2025.
US law allows a six-month priority period for design applications, and the filing fell inside that window.
USPTO granted the patent about 17 months later.
US design patents from applications filed on or after May 13, 2015, carry a 15-year term from the date of grant.
Kia and Hyundai’s patent lists a 15-year term, which runs to August 2041.
USPTO classified the design under Locarno subclass 12-08, which covers motor cars, buses and lorries.
Examiners cited 14 earlier US design patents dating back to 2000, along with three publications.
Besides the Car and Driver piece, those include a 2023 YouTube clip of the Hyundai Santa Fe and an August 2023 Electrek article.
Prototype Surfaced in Korea Last Year
Physical evidence of an off-road EV9 predates the grant as well.
In July 2025, a camouflaged EV9 prototype with a raised suspension, all-terrain tires and a winch built into the front bumper was photographed testing in South Korea, The Korean Car Blog reported, citing images from Healer TV.
According to a later report, the prototype was not identical to the ‘ADVNTR’ but shared details with it, including lime green brake calipers, while running without all-terrain tires.
No winch appears in the patent drawings.
Neither the patent nor CarBuzz‘s report includes a statement from Kia on production plans.
EV9 Sales Decline in US
Kia’s patent grant comes as US sales of the flagship EV fell 33.2% in August to 1,789 units, from 2,679 a year earlier, according to Kia America.
Sales from January to August still rose about 12% to 10,474 units.
The Korean automaker is offering up to $10,000 in customer cash on the model, while its entry price has remained at $54,900 before destination since launch.
The EV9 is a direct competitor of the Rivian R1S three-row SUV.
Rivian was spotted testing an EV9 towing a trailer in Arizona as part of its benchmarking program in September 2025.
