Thanks to the rapidly growing sales of the Kia brand’s hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles in the first eight months of the year, the company achieved never seen numbers until now.
According to new data released by the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the European market share of the brand is now 3.6% year to date in the EU, EFTA and the UK. This increased from 3.1% in the same period in 2019. With 259,442 units sold in Europe between January and August, Kia outperformed other established brands in market share.
Sales of electrified Kia vehicles increased significantly during the first eight months of 2020, with 68,611 units sold. This figure includes Kia’s growing range of mild hybrid (MHEV), parallel hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric (EV) powertrains. The result is that electrified cars now represent more than one in four cars sold by the brand in Europe (26.4%).
Emilio Herrera, Chief Operating Officer of Kia Motors Europe, comments: “The entire market is struggling with a dramatic slowdown in sales caused by the effects of the pandemic, and Kia is not affected by it. However, the rapidly growing sales of our electric and hybrid vehicles have contributed to ours record market share this year, thanks to our long-term strategy to offer a wide range of advanced and efficient powertrains. This certainly gives us a solid foundation for sustainable growth as the market starts to recover. “
Kia recorded sales above estimates for its two fully electric vehicles, e-Niro and e-Soul, more than double from year to year. The brand has sold 20,649 electric vehicles in Europe so far this year, compared to 9,303 units in the first eight months of 2019. As a result, electric vehicles now represent 8% of all sales of Kia in the EU, EFTA and UK.
Sales of PHEV models increased by 61.1% (18,868 units) following the introduction of new plug-in hybrids Ceed Sportswagon e XCeed and of growing sales of the Niro plug-in hybrid. Year-to-date sales of MHEV vehicles also total over 9,000 units, a record number, following the introduction of Kia ‘EcoDynamics +’ light hybrid technology to the Ceed model family and to the Picanto, Rio and Stonic.
Demand for the electrified Kia Niro family has also grown despite the decline in the automotive market European. Additionally, the brand’s best-selling model, Kia Ceed, has seen growth this year, thanks to the introduction of XCeed, XCeed Plug-in Hybrid, Ceed Sportswagon Plug-in Hybrid, and new EcoDynamics + mild-hybrid powertrains.
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