Categories: Cars

Record-Setting First Quarter, Sales Up 4.1 Percent

Kia sold 207,015 cars through the first three months of the year, up 4.1 percent.
The Sportage remains the brand’s best-selling model, with 44,704 units sold.
Sales for Kia’s two electric vehicles, the EV6 and EV9, fell 46.5 percent and 27.1 percent, respectively.

Kia has broken another sales record, with first-quarter 2026 sales rising 4.1% year over year. So far, Kia has sold 207,015 vehicles this year compared to 198,850 through the first months of 2025.

The Sportage continues to be Kia’s best-selling model, with sales up 8.2 percent to 44,704. The K4 is Kia’s second-best-selling vehicle, but just barely. The automaker sold 37,220 K4s last quarter, compared to 35,928 Telluride SUVs, with both models posting year-over-year sales increases.

Kia’s electric vehicles, the EV6 and EV9, saw their sales fall last quarter, tumbling 46.5 percent and 27.1 percent, respectively. Sales for the two EVs began to suffer after the US government discontinued subsidies for them.

Model	2026 YTD Sales	2025 YTD Sales	% Change
Kia EV9	2,740	3,756	-27.1%
Kia EV6	2,023	3,783	-46.5%
Kia K4	37,220	37,004	0.6%
Kia K4	18,806	15,747	19.43
Kia Soul	3,299	11,277	-70.8%
Kia Niro	7,455	5,188	43.7%
Kia Seltos	14,699	11,375	29.2%
Kia Sportage	44,704	41,301	8.2%
Kia Sorento	21,510	25,117	-14.4%
Kia Telluride	35,928	29,943	19.99%
Kia Carnival	18,631	14,574	27.8%
Total	207,015	198,850	4.1%

Sales for the Sorento were also down 14.4 percent to 21,510. The Soul, which suffered a significant sales drop of 70.8 percent, ended production at the end of the 2025 model year. Helping drive Kia’s sales boom were its hybrids, whose sales increased 73 percent, according to the automaker.

Despite the strong quarter, sales in March were down. The automaker sold about 2,000 fewer cars last month than in March 2026, which could be a sign of a sales slowdown for Kia, and the rest of the industry.

Motor1’s Take: Kia’s sales boom continues. The automaker had a record-breaking 2025 and has set a goal of surpassing that number this year, and it’s currently off to a stellar start.