Kia Seltos SUV To Get Hybrid Model Next Year

Kia’s smallest SUV, the Seltos, will be electrified next year with a new hybrid model. The Seltos Hybrid (HEV) may not go on sale in the US first however. Kia will likely bring it to the US to compete with the likes of the Toyota Corolla Cross HEV though.

According to Kia, the Seltos is their 7th best selling vehicle (out of a total of 13 models on sale last year, and 5th best selling so far in 2024), and last year was about as popular, saleswise, as Kia’s Soul and the K5 in the US market. The Seltos is already a fuel efficient, sub compact SUV getting 29 MPG combined in AWD form, and 31 MPG combined in FWD form, depending on trim. The addition of a hybrid option might increase the Seltos’ fuel economy stats by at least 20-30%, which would mean about 35-38 MPG for the AWD variant, and 37-40 MPG for the FWD option. Of course, the final figures could be higher, given that the larger and heavier Kia Sportage HEV gets 38 or 43 MPG in AWD or FWD trims, respectively, according to Kia. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Seltos HEV is able to best (or at least tie) the Corolla Cross HEV and its Toyota estimated 42 MPG combined. Would anyone prefer a 45 MPG subcompact hybrid SUV packed with all the latest safety and tech features? That may be an option about a year from now.

The Korea Economic Daily and Carexpert.com.au broke news about the forthcoming Seltos HEV model getting “a major overhaul next year, with hybrid power among the headline changes” based on the recently updated Hyundai Kona platform. The Seltos and the Hyundai Kona share a platform, however the 2024 Seltos is based on the previous iteration of the Kona platform. For the 2024 model year the Kona got an all new platform, called K3, and grew by about 6 inches in length and about 1 inch in width. This suggests that next year’s Seltos, in addition to getting a hybrid powerplant, will be larger and more spacious inside. Since subcompact SUVs are more popular in overseas markets than they are in the US, it may be likely the Seltos HEV will debut outside of the US first, and as Kia’s manufacturing line allows they will bring it to the US, too. Depending on Kia’s battery supply, and the other new electrified models they are ramping up now like the Carnival HEV and the fully electric EV9, among others, it may be difficult for Kia to build enough Seltos HEV batteries to meet the full global demand, initially. 

Another thing Kia may have to weigh is their own product line. The Kia Niro of course is most commonly sold in its HEV form (and also available in plug-in hybrid and fully electric versions too). Might a Seltos HEV take sales away from the similarly sized Niro HEV? Will customers be “confused” at all by the two similarly sized vehicles, or might it create inefficiencies in the Kia product line otherwise? I would think that some shoppers may opt for the Seltos HEV if they want AWD in particular, but otherwise the two vehicles are stylistically different enough, with the Seltos being more rugged (at least in appearance) or off-road capable (with better ground clearance) than the Niro. Also, customers that value fuel efficiency over off-road capability (or just style) may prefer the Niro anyway, since it gets well over 50 MPG in hybrid form.

How about you, reader? Are you interested in a sub compact sized hybrid SUV, especially one that is a little larger than current model year offerings? Please leave your 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.