Kia February Sales Decline Overall, But EV Sales Continue To Rise

Overall, Kia’s sales slipped ever so slightly two months in a row, but the same is not true for Kia’s EV sales. Kia reported February 2024 sales for the US market last week and their EV sales are up 65%, year-over-year. The increase is due to the new EV9.

Kia accentuated the positive as per usual, in its press release for last month’s US sales. Their February 2024 sales were 1,800 units lower than February 2023 sales, and year to date sales are also down almost 2,700 units since January sales were also down. In the grand scheme of things, this sales dip is minor and not particularly discouraging considering the overall state of the new vehicle market in the US. However, there are some interesting minutiae in these figures that can give us some sense of Kia’s electric (and electrified) sales momentum

First, the star of the show, Kia’s recently released EV9 electric SUV. The EV9 has managed to outsell the smaller EV6 all electric crossover each month this year and it is seemingly being given every award by the automotive press. It truly is a value oriented 3-row, fully electric SUV. I previously pointed out that the EV9 may outsell all other Kia EVs most months this year, not just because it is the new thing, but because it represents the greatest value proposition of all Kia’s EVs (and potentially its gas powered SUVs too, one day). Kia’s challenge, and perhaps to the shoppers' chagrin though, is that Kia simply won’t be able to deliver more than a few thousand of them each month for the foreseeable future. Maybe that is all they need to meet demand, or maybe it isn’t. Regardless, EV9 sales dipped in February (compared to the previous month), but only slightly (by 99 units specifically). So we might be starting to see a trend for the EV9’s first full year on sale in the US of around 1,250-1,500 units per month, and if that proves to be true then the EV9 may only sell about 15,000 - 18,000 units this year, which would be less than the EV6 has sold in either of the last two years it has been on sale. Thus, Kia will need to increase its monthly sales average to over 1,700 EV9s per month if it is to take the EV sales lead for the company.

Kia’s EV6 sales continue to show little change (though to be fair, the EV6 has sold a whopping 118 more units this year so far, compared to last year). It, like most EVs, faces some stiff headwinds due to the limitations of the Inflation Reduction Act which has cut it out of the federal incentives program (for sales, but not leases). Kia has been offering its own incentives and some state and local governments may also support stronger regional sales, but basically we can say that EV6 sales are holding pretty much steady. 

Finally, Kia’s Niro EV sales seem to be dropping off significantly (though we can’t be sure of that since Kia continues not to break out its Niro EV sales from its hybrid Niro sales). Technically it is possible the opposite is true, but I highly doubt that as Kia would have called that out in their press release if so. All Niro model sales, combined, were down by 867 units last month, and more than 2,500 units so far this year, or around 40% lower. That is perhaps the most alarming tidbit in Kia’s latest sales numbers and while too early to tell may be the first indications of Kia’s electrification “strategy” for the US market beginning to sputter. Still, the EV9 has increased Kia’s overall EV sales by 65% so far this year, and that’s certainly a positive. But I have to temper my enthusiasm. If we combine the estimated 1,600 or so Niro EV sales with the known 2,522 EV6 and 2,726 EV9 sales it only adds up to about 6,848 Kia EVs sold in the first two months of the year. Tesla sells about that many (or more) EVs in the US every two days. This is just to say that the leading EV manufacturers not named Tesla continue to expand EV supply in drips and drops. This has been the pattern for years, so I do not buy for a second that this is due to the recent doom and gloom about lack of demand for EVs that other journalists have been writing about for months. 

What do you think, reader? Is the Kia EV9 of any interest to you? Are you actually more interested in different models, perhaps plug-in hybrids or standard hybrids? Are you at all concerned about the apparent lack of sales progress in those vehicle types or with Kia’s other EVs? Please leave you questions and comments below.

Image courtesy of Kia.

Justin Hart has owned and driven electric vehicles for over 15 years, including a first generation Nissan LEAF, second generation Chevy Volt, Tesla Model 3, an electric bicycle and most recently a Kia Sorento PHEV. He is also an avid SUP rider, poet, photographer and wine lover. He enjoys taking long EV and PHEV road trips to beautiful and serene places with the people he loves. Follow Justin on Torque News Kia or X for regular electric and hybrid news coverage.