Kia is betting big on hybrids and electric vehicles to boost U.S. sales past 1 million a year.
The ambitious automaker’s plan includes offsetting the quirky Soul subcompact’s departure with the more conventional 2027 Seltos compact SUV and jumping into the U.S. pickup market with hybrid and electric models.
I spoke with Kia North America’s product planning boss Orth Hedrick at the recent New York auto show.
“Hybrids are a big focus right now,” Hedrick said, sitting by the stage where the automaker had just unveiled the Seltos — which adds a hybrid with this second-generation model — and EV3 compact electric SUV. Kia also just added a hybrid version of the Telluride three-row SUV, which enters its second generation with the 2027 model year.
The Telluride elevated Kia’s status in the United States when it debuted as a 2020 model, paving the way for a generation of stylish vehicles that have raised the brand’s profile and profits.
The 2027 Telluride is on sale now. The ’27 Seltos should arrive in dealerships any day with prices starting under $30,000. Look for the EV3 late this year, priced just under $40,000
An American-style pickup
“There’s a big pivot toward hybrids,” Hedrick said. “We’re a global company with lots of powertrains. We can offer a range.”
The other shoe to that statement dropped in South Korea a few days after Hedrick and I spoke.
Kia president and CEO Ho Sung Song announced Kia is developing hybrid and extended-range pickups “targeting core markets in North America.”
Hybrids and electric vehicles are vital to Kia’s plan to boost U.S. sales to 1.02 million in 2030. Expect most of the vehicles to be built here as Kia and corporate sibling Hyundai continue an investment spree.
The pickup will likely be midsize — think Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma — using the same architecture Hyundai revealed at the New York auto show in the brash Boulder concept SUV.
Expect U.S. production for the pickup. Song said it will be on sale by 2030.
It will use the body-on-frame structure pickup buyers favor, unlike the smaller Santa Cruz pickup Hyundai has discontinued.
Hyundai is dropping the Santa Cruz in favor of its own body-on-frame pickup.
What’s an EREV? Will pickup buyers want one?
Extended-range electric vehicles are the flavor of the month for electric pickups, though nobody’s actually sold a truck using the system.
EREVs combine a battery that can be charged by plugging in with a gasoline-powered generator to produce more electricity for towing or long drives.
The concept sounds great, but shoppers seemed cool to its benefits in the Chevrolet Volt and Cadillac ELR, which pioneered the concept.
Despite that, Ford and Stellantis canceled battery-only EV pickups in favor of EREVs.
While EREVs appear to be a roll of the dice, the Toyota Tacoma has shown there’s an appetite for hybrid midsize pickups.
Kia aims to sell 1.1 million hybrids and 1 million EVs globally by 2030.
Contact Mark Phelan: mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Electric pickup and hybrid SUVs power Kia’s push for 1M U.S. sales
Reporting by Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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