It's Kia's Best Year Ever in America, Here Are the Bestsellers

Between January and November 2023, Kia America sold almost 22,000 units more than in the entire 2022, beating last year’s numbers. And there is still one more month to go before the end of 2023. Kia kept beating the performance of the previous month for the 16th consecutive time. 58,338 units were sold this past month.

722,176 cars have already reached their customers. It is only the second time Kia sold over 700,000 units per year in the United States. The previous record was set in 2016, when Kia sold 700,862 cars in the US.

Now, the Telluride, the Sportage, and the Forte made the sales figures skyrocket. The three models accounted for over 100,000 units of the ones sold this year, with the Sorento SUV following in their footsteps.

The minivan segment is also gaining traction. Last year, 18,480 customers chose the Carnival, with the figure more than doubling this year: 40,084 vehicles sold through November. Kia is counting on the Carnival to do even better in the upcoming months, as they prepare the replacement of the current model with the facelift version.

Almost every Kia model in the lineup gained popularity

The best-selling models so far this year are the Kia Sportage with 129,647, followed by the Kia Forte with 114,377 and the Kia Telluride with 101,324 units sold.

It is not only milk and honey for every model in the lineup. The EV6 seems to fall behind, with 1,761 units less compared to last year. Yet the electric models posted a 120 percent year-over-year increase. The EV6 is up 101 percent, the Sportage convinced 4 percent more customers, with the Celts and the Telluride going for 3 percent more.

The sedan segment is probably having its days numbered. The K5 and the Stinger are struggling to keep up with the rest of the models. The K5 received a facelift, but for the moment, it is only available in South Korea.

“New customers are shopping like never before,” says Kia America’s vice president of sales operations, Eric Watson. He also expects the winning streak to continue into 2024 and is counting on the EV9 SUV and the facelifted Sorento to keep the numbers up. In the race for the 2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year, the EV9 has already received deposits from customers in every one of the 50 US states. The model will arrive in showrooms soon.

The SUV segment accounted for 71 percent of the November sales. The Kia Telluride was chosen by fewer customers compared to last year (89,033 compared to 101,324). But the SUV found consolation in being named the SUV of the Year by the Hispanic Motor Press. The award for the three-row, seven-seat SUV was presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show.