Kia South Africa has not yet made a decision on whether it will bring its new-energy vehicles into South Africa.
“At the moment we’re still assessing the practical feasibility of launching hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs [electric vehicles] to the South African market,” Kia South Africa told TopAuto.
“As such, no final decision has been reached.”
This news follows a host of electric cars being confirmed for a South African launch in 2022 and Kia’s exceptional EV sales performance in Europe in 2021.
Kia electric cars are popular
Three standout models for Kia in Europe in 2021 were the e-Niro and e-Soul – two models based on petrol vehicles – as well as the EV6, which was designed to be an electric car from the outset.
Together, these cars were largely responsible for making Kia the second-biggest gainer in EV market share in Europe in 2021 – following its parent brand Hyundai in first.
At the end of 2020, Kia held a 4.05% EV market share in Europe. This jumped to 5.42% at the end of 2021, according to data from EU-EVs.
Globally between January and November 2021, Kia sold 77,000 fully electric cars – with the EV6 accounting for roughly 24,000 units, reported InsideEVs.
This is impressive considering the EV6 is one of the most expensive electric cars sold by Kia, and the fact that it had only been in production for five months at that point in time.
The EV6 currently has a German starting price of €44,990 (R773,000) and boasts a driving range of 424km in its baseline specification.
In South Africa, Kia has put in an impressive performance, too.
The brand typically sold between 1,500 and 2,300 new units per month throughout 2021 – giving it several top-10 sales spots.
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