South Korean automaker Kia announced on Tuesday that it sold 64,502 vehicles across all powertrains last month in the United States, representing a 13.1% year over year increase.
In 2025, the brand set a new sales record in the US with 852,155 units.
Sales of electrified models — which include battery electric (BEV), hybrid electric (HEV), and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) — rose by approximately 45% compared to a year ago.
However, considering only sales figures of the fully-electric vehicles in the lineup — the EV6 crossover SUV and the larger EV9 — registrations have plunged.
The EV9 SUV accounted for 674 vehicles last month, a 45.3% drop from the 1,232 units recorded in January 2025, while sales of the EV6 crashed by 65% to 540 from 1,542 units.
ICE + Hybrid Models
The Sportage SUV was Kia‘s best-selling model in the US last month, with a 23.1% growth to 13,984 units.
The sport-utility vehicle is offered in both internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid options.
The Kia Seltos SUV — available as both a petrol and a hybrid — posted the highest year over year sales growth (+85.8%) to 5,278 units.
It was followed by the Carnival MPV, also available in both options, which achieved 5,879 deliveries, rising 60.4% compared to January 2025.
The K5 mid-size sedan listed 6,276 vehicles last month and recorded a 44.0% year over year increase.
Other models recorded smaller year-on-year rises, such as the Telluride SUV, with 7.4%, and the K4 compact sedan, with only 0.2%.
The Kia Soul model saw its sales decline by 51.3% compared to a year ago, to 1,731 units, while registrations of the Sorento SUV decreased 14.1% to 5,904 vehicles.
2025 Performance
Last year, Kia achieved a record-breaking number of global sales with 3,135,803 vehicles — a 1.5% increase from 2024.
Specifically in the US, the Hyundai Group-owned company registered 852,155 vehicles surpassing the 800,000 mark for the first time.
In 2025, the automaker launched nine new models globally, including the EV4 and the PV5 — its first dedicated electric light commercial EV.
New Models
Last month, Kia debuted its EV2 B-segment SUV at the Brussels Motor Show, its smallest and most affordable fully electric model.
Designed for the European market, the EV2 is offered in two different variants: Standard Range and Long Range.
The model is expected to start at approximately €30,000 – equivalent to $35,400 – in Europe. However, Kia has not disclosed the exact prices yet.
In early January, the brand said it would begin production of the model later this quarter in Slovakia, starting with the standard-range trim. The long-range and GT Line versions are planned to follow later in the year.
“Market launch timings will be announced closer to the start of sales,” the Seoul-based company stated.
The 2026 K4 Hatchback began sales this month in the US, starting at $24,890.
Unveiled at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, the new flagship 2027 Telluride SUV is set to be launched this quarter, with ICE and hybrid variants available.
The brand confirmed on Tuesday that the updated ICE model will be priced from $39,190 (excluding taxes) for an FWD LX trim.
2025 Retrospective and Future
Kia America’s Vice President (VP) of Sales Operations Eric Watson said that, due to the launches of the new models, this year will “once again prove the value of offering a balanced lineup to US customers.”
The executive highlighted that January 2026’s results reflect Kia‘s product strategy in the month and throughout last year.
“Building on three straight annual sales records, January’s record performance shows that Kia is not slowing down as the brand’s strategy of giving customers everything they need and more than they expect across a variety of segments and powertrains attracts more and more new customers,” Watson stated.
Last month, Kia said it plans to achieve 3.35 million deliveries this year.
The company also aims to export 2.775 million vehicles, with the remaining 565,000 delivered in South Korea.
