Kia Australia had a record sales year in 2024, and the Korean brand is aiming even higher this year with a slew of new models on the way.
Speaking with media at the launch of the new K4 small car, Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith said the carmaker’s local division expects to deliver around 90,000 new vehicles in 2025 – marking a 12.5 per cent increase over last year’s record, despite predictions the overall market will start shrinking this year.
“Our expectation is to do around 90,000 [sales] in 2025,” Mr Meredith said, before cautioning that variables including the rising cost of living and the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) could impact that target.
“There are things outside our control.” he said. “There are some macro economic issues, and there’s obviously some political-geographic issues that are going to affect how some people feel about the future – but we’re just going to stick to our plan, sell about 90,000, and do the mix that we have to do to ensure we meet the requirements of NVES.”
“We’re confident in our strategy, we’re confident in our dealer network that will make that number. A challenging year, definitely, but also exciting.”
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Kia Tasman
Kia Australia registered 81,787 new vehicles in 2024, an increase of 7.4 per cent on the year prior and an all-time record for the Korean brand in Australia. Never before has Kia eclipsed the 80,000-unit barrier. It also finished fourth overall in the manufacturer standings, ahead of Mitsubishi and sister brand Hyundai, although 90,000 sales would see it remain in that position behind Toyota, Ford and Mazda, based on 2024 sales figures.
A key driver for Kia’s growth in 2025 will be the all-new Tasman dual-cab ute, the brand’s first entrant in the hotly contested and lucrative segment, and its first competitor for Australia’s top-selling model, the Ford Ranger.
Pickups are the country’s second most popular new vehicle type after mid-sized SUVs, and Kia has previously projected 20,000 annual sales for its upcoming utility, so a 10,000-unit boost in volume makes sense given the Tasman is due to arrive around mid-year. And it should drive Kia to 100,000 sales in 2026 (when an EV version of the Tasman is expected), as previously forecast by Mr Meredith.
But also helping drive the Korean brand towards the sales podium will be the facelifted Sportage mid-sized SUV and EV6 large electric SUV, as well as the all-new EV3 small electric SUV – all are due in the second quarter (April-June).
Kia has foreshadowed a big electrification push in 2025, starting with this month’s Australian Open tennis tournament, where it hosted a 130-strong fleet of all-electrified vehicles for the first time in the 24-year history of its naming-rights sponsorship of the event, consisting of the all-electric EV5, EV6 and EV9, in addition to hybrid versions of the Sportage, the Sorento large SUV and the Carnival people-mover.
Product planning boss, Roland Rivero, hinted that hybrids will become more widely available across the Sportage, Sorento and Carnival lineups – in which petrol-electric powertrains are currently limited to top-spec variants – during the course of this year, in preparation for the NVES becoming punitive for auto brands as of July 1, 2025.
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Kia EV3 -
Kia EV6 facelift -
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Kia Sportage facelift
With a better supply and mix of hybrid and electric vehicles, in addition to several new and facelifted models plus an all-new dual-cab ute, Kia seems well placed to become a top-three auto brand in Australia this year, and perhaps even the nation’s second biggest brand in 2026.
Annual volume of 90,000 units this year would put the Korean brand within striking distance of Mazda (95,987) and Ford (100,170) based on last year’s sales figures, and 100,000 potential sales next year could put it ahead of both brands by 2026. Neither Mazda nor Ford offer a wide range of electrified products, and those that are currently remain low-volume vehicles.
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