Kia Motors has announced a 2.1% year-over-year decrease in global vehicle sales for May, totaling 264,313 units. Despite this overall decline, the company experienced a significant surge in all-electric car sales, setting a new record.
Kia reported that retail all-electric car sales reached 19,407 units in May, marking a 93% increase from the previous year. The share of EVs out of the brand’s total volume reached 7.5%.
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The company’s all-electric lineup includes the EV5, EV6, EV9, Niro EV, Niro Plus EV, Soul EV, and the Korea-only Ray EV and Bingo EV. Kia anticipates further growth in EV sales with the upcoming launch of the all-new EV3 model in the second half of 2024.
Wholesale shipments of Kia’s E-GMP-based models, which are closely related to production, totaled nearly 12,500 units in May, up 29% year-over-year. This includes production of the EV3, EV6, and EV9 in South Korea, as well as the EV5 in China.
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Kia’s best-selling EV model remains the Kia EV6, with 6,081 wholesale units sold in May, although this represented a 37% decrease year-over-year. The company expects the EV6’s sales to improve with the introduction of the updated version.
The EV5 set a new monthly wholesale record in May, while initial units of the EV3 also began production.
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So far in 2024, Kia has sold over 80,000 retail EVs, with a growth rate estimated at up to 75%. Wholesale shipments of E-GMP-based models have exceeded 55,000 units.
Looking back at 2023, Kia’s wholesale shipments of E-GMP-based electric cars totaled 132,711, reflecting a 59% year-over-year increase. The outlook for Kia in the second half of the year is positive, particularly with the anticipated launch of the EV3.
