Kia reports that its global vehicle sales in April increased by 8.3 percent year-over-year to 259,524 units. During the first four months of 2023, the company sold 1,027,775 vehicles (up 11 percent year-over-year).
The South Korean manufacturer is also increasing sales of its E-GMP-based all-electric cars, achieving another decent result.
In April, the all-electric Kia EV6 noted 9,421 wholesale sales (closely related to production), which is 30 percent more than a year ago.
Kia reports wholesale sales (on the manufacturer level or plant sales), unaudited, and on a preliminary basis.
The total number includes 2,694 sales in South Korea and 6,727 export sales. So far this year, export is stable at around 7,000 units per month.
An interesting thing for us is that another 19 units of the Kia EV9 appeared in the stats (after the first seven in March), which indicates that the preparations continue. Usually, there is a few months of low number production, before it increases to four digits a month. This model will be produced also in the United States, starting in 2024.
So far this year, Kia EV6 wholesale sales exceeded 36,200 (up 29 percent year-over-year).
In its monthly sales data report, Kia lists also 4,551 retail sales of the Kia EV6 outside of South Korea, including 1,241 in the US.
The other electric car models – Kia Niro EV and Kia Soul EV – noted another year-over-year decrease in retail sales outside of South Korea: respectively 4,241 (down 0.7 percent) and 173 (down 70 percent). We don’t have numbers for Kia’s home market.
Kia BEV sales last month:
- EV6: 4,551 retail sales outside South Korea
(9,421 wholesale – 2,694 in South Korea and 6,727 exported) - Niro EV: 4,241 retail sales outside South Korea
- Soul EV: 173 retail sales outside South Korea
- Total*: at least 11,659 (down 13% year-over-year) or 4.5% of the total volume
*South Korea (EV6) + overseas retail sales data (EV6, Niro EV, Soul EV)
Unfortunately, Kia does not report PHEV numbers.
For reference, in 2022, the company sold more than 130,000 all-electric cars.
2030 Goal: 1.6 Million BEVs Annually
In April, Kia held the CEO Investor Day event in Seoul and presented its mid-to-long-term business strategy with a focus on electrification.
The company’s updated 2030 annual sales target is 4.3 million units, of which 1.6 million units will be all-electric vehicles (over 133,000 a month). If achieved, it would mean that all-electric cars will represent 37 percent of the total global volume (plus an additional share for plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids).
As we can see, within seven years we should see an increase in Kia BEV sales by more than an order of magnitude, compared to 2022.
