Apr 03, 2025 by admin

Kia Australia’s most affordable electric vehicles (EV) yet should take the Korean brand to new sales heights Down Under, says the company’s local product planning boss.

Speaking with CarExpert at the Australian launch of the 2025 Kia EV3, general manager for product planning at Kia Australia – Roland Rivero – says internal projections could see Kia selling around 400 EV3s a month, which is similar volume to the larger EV5 in recent months.

“We need to be doing about the 400-500 per month mark [each] on the two-pronged attack of EV3 and EV5,” Mr Rivero said. “We need those numbers, in effect, to offset the potential penalties that may come from ICE product [as part of the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES)].”

Mr Rivero also noted the EV5 is on track to break the Korean brand’s local record for monthly EV sales in March, with some 500 new registrations projected – this will be confirmed in VFACTS sales figures later today.

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Should the EV3 and EV5 deliver on their projected volumes in 2025, Kia Australia’s EV sales mix could increase dramatically to around the 10 per cent mark, noting CEO Damien Meredith’s overall volume projection of 90,000-plus units for the brand this calendar year – which would be another all-time record.

Adding to the increased EV share will be the updated EV6 (due in the third quarter of 2025), and potentially the all-new EV4 electric sedan – which could arrive in Australian showrooms before year’s end.

In 2024, Kia Australia reached an all-time high of 81,787 registrations for the calendar year according to VFACTS sales figures. Driving this year’s growth will be not only the new EV3 and EV5, but also the brand’s first ute – the Kia Tasman – due to launch around July.

90,000 sales would see Kia compete for a top-three place in the overall brand standings this year, after finishing fourth in 2024 behind Toyota (241,296) Ford (100,170) and Mazda (95,987).

The looming NVES emissions regime has many manufacturers scrambling to up the ratio of lower-emitting vehicle sales to meet emissions limits to avoid accruing financial penalties from July 1, 2025.

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Kia appears to be one of the more fortunate car manufacturers when it comes to the NVES, which helped the Australian division negotiate with its global parent to offer more electrified and low-emissions options than previously. For example, hybrid versions of the Kia Sportage and Sorento SUVs have been severely supply constrained, but this should change from mid-year.

It’s a similar story for the Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid and Kia Carnival Hybrid, both of which have been hamstrung by “token” levels of supply in Australia – around 10-20 units per month – since their respective launches Down Under.

The incoming 2025/2026 Kia Sportage facelift will likely be another beneficiary, with Mr Rivero confirming to CarExpert in January that Australians can expect a wider range of Sportage Hybrid variants from base grade to top-spec, as well as the option of an all-wheel drive version for the first time.

Currently, the Sportage HEV is limited to SX and GT-Line trim levels in Australia, remains exclusively front-wheel drive despite AWD being offered overseas, and has a volume cap of around 300 units per month.

Mr Rivero also indicated the Stonic compact SUV could also gain mild-hybrid technology in 2026, as part of a second facelift for Kia’s smallest SUV.

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MORE: Everything Kia EV3 | EV5