Are sales going to rebound?
Kia America reports 56,703 car sales in the US in November, which is 25% more than a year ago and a new best-ever November. Year-to-date, the company sold 633,127 units – only 3% less than a year ago in a pretty challenging year.
The South Korean company announced also that its electrified car sales achieved a 133% increase year-over-year (without providing an exact number), completing a five-month streak of double or triple-digit gains.
Eric Watson, vice president, sales operations, Kia America
“Building on our best-ever third-quarter and October sales, Kia’s upward momentum continued with a record November with SUVs and hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs pushing the brand ever higher. With Sportage up 144-percent and our electrified offerings posting double or triple-digit sales increases for the fifth consecutive month, we are confident that we will end the year strong, and this positive sales momentum will carry through to 2023.”
Unfortunately, for the all-electric Kia EV6, after a very strong start in early 2022, its sales continue on a downward trend.
Last month, only 641 EV6 were delivered in the US, which is the lowest monthly result so far (the first below 1,000) and just 1.1% of the total volume.
It’s difficult to say whether that’s the new bottom or if it will be even worse in December. At such a low level, we guess that it’s more a matter of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) and no eligibility for the $7,500 federal tax credit for new orders (from August 16, 2022), rather than a limited supply.
Kia EV6 sales in the US – November 2022
So far this year, 19,931 Kia EV6s were sold in the US, which is 3.1% of Kia’s total volume. With one month to go, we are not so sure whether 20,000 units will be sold in 2022 due to the recent slowdown.
In the future, the Kia EV6 family will be strengthened by the performance-oriented Kia EV6 GT version (above the GT-Line trim), which can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. However, if the car is not eligible for the $7,500 tax credit, its sales will be limited in the US.
Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not report sales of other plug-in models, as they are counted together with conventional or non-rechargeable hybrid versions.
According to our data (from a different data set provided by the manufacturer), during the first ten months of this year, Kia sold over 7,000 Kia Niro EVs in the US.
The latest new model in Kia’s plug-in lineup is the Kia Sportage PHEV model, which offers up to 32 miles (51 km) of all-electric range.