Kia has culled its first electric car in Australia amid the arrival of a much cheaper replacement, and the hybrid version could be next.
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The first electric Kia sold in Australia – the Kia Niro EV – has been cut from the line-up after less than four years in showrooms.
And the Niro hybrid may follow in the next 18 months once a petrol-electric version of the next generation of the similarly-sized Seltos SUV arrives in showrooms.
Australia received the Kia Niro in 2021 – late in the life of the first-generation model introduced overseas in 2016 – before the second-generation version launched in 2022.
But it has never been a top seller for the South Korean giant, with 1455 delivered last year, 1826 in 2023, and 5795 since the model’s debut four years ago, across hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric variants.
The majority of sales – about 45 per cent last year – have been the hybrid variant, increasingly as the EV found itself matched up against rivals from Tesla and Chinese brands that are cheaper, larger and better equipped.
Its future in Australia has been under a cloud since the larger EV5 electric SUV rolled out last year, with more space yet a lower price than the Niro EV.
The arrival of the Niro-sized EV3 last month, with an entry price nearly $20,000 lower, has sealed the deal.
“We’ve stopped Niro EV production wise,” Kia Australia head of product Roland Rivero told Drive at the launch of the EV3, “we’ve still got a little, tiny bit of supply in dealer land.”
“But there’s still Niro hybrid, and we'll watch that and let the market determine its demand of the hybrid variant. It could all change when, maybe, the next-generation Seltos comes along. But in any case, for now, Niro is still going to continue on.”
In other markets – such as the UK, where the Niro is popular – the car will live on alongside the EV3, while the US market does not yet get the EV3, so the Niro will soldier on.
Based on the typical five- to six-year life cycle of Kia models, the second-generation Niro is due for a mid-life update or ‘facelift’ in the next 18 months, but to date no examples have been spied testing.
Asked if a Niro facelift is coming, Rivero said: “Theoretically it would be, but it could well be that it won't be slated for Australia.”
When pressed on whether the phase-out of the Niro hybrid as a facelift arrives could line up with another new hybrid model’s arrival, Rivero said: “Good point. It could be that the PE [Kia speak for facelift] of Niro might coincide with something with the next generation Seltos.”
The Niro was launched overseas close to a decade ago as the brand’s first foray into electrified vehicles, offering a choice of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric power on the bones of the Hyundai Ioniq hatchback.
Since then – just as Toyota expanded from the Prius to a slew of hybrid versions of its regular models – Kia has added hybrid power to most of its other top-selling cars.
The Seltos will follow the larger Sportage and Sorento SUVs – as well as the Carnival people mover – in adopting hybrid power, likely for less of a price premium than the standalone Niro.
In Australia, the Niro Hybrid S is priced from $45,000 plus on-road costs – only slightly cheaper than the $45,950 of a Kia Sportage SX Hybrid, which is larger, more powerful and similarly or better equipped.
Meanwhile, the cheapest Niro EV ($66,590 for the S grade) is dearer than even the most expensive EV3 ($63,950 for the GT-Line), and almost $10,000 more than the top-selling, and larger Tesla Model Y ($58,900).
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
