Hyundai Motor Group affiliate Kia aims to double hybrid sales by 2028, releasing hybrid versions of existing nine major models as the automaker reconsiders its focus on the competitive electric vehicle market.
The South Korean automaker will expand hybrid production, targeting sales of 800,000 units — or 19% of total sales — in 2028, up from an anticipated 372,000 units, or 12% of total sales, in just four years in 2024.
Seoul-based Kia operates a mixed production factories at its 13 plants in south Koea and overseas that combine production of EVs, hybrids and gas engine vehicles, allowing flexibility in production ratios.
This setup has enabled the company to adjust hybrid production and boost the division’s operating profit margin from just a few percentage points in 2021 to about 10% in 2023.
Kia also will boost research and development spending to US $27.6 billion in the four years
Parent Hyundai Motor holds a 34% stake in Kia, which accounted for 40% of the group’s 7.2 million units sold in 2023 with the senior partner developing its own hybrid technologies, such as batteries.
With sales to China set to decline amid weak demand and fierce price competition with local automakers, some vehicles manufactured at Kia’s Chinese plants will be exported to regions where the hybrid market is expected to expand, such as southeast Asia and Latin America.
Until recently, the main staple for customers in the market for a hybrid medium SUV has been the Toyota RAV4, with the hybrid version accounting for 80% of the RAV4’s overall sales, before Toyota made the switch to an all-hybrid line-up. However, high demand has resulted in significant wait times and other mainstream brands are offering some compelling alternatives.
Kia is relatively late to the party with a hybrid version of the Sportage and has launched just two variants – the SX and the top-spec GT-Line hybrid front-wheel drive that starts at $55,420 before on-road making it the most expensive Sportage in Australia. It costs just over $3100 more than the all-wheel drive diesel GT-Line, $5500 more than the petrol GT-Line and notably $4010 more expensive than the roughly equivalent Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Cruiser 2WD.
The Sportage Hybrid SX is a more affordable proposition, priced from $45,490 before on-road costs.
Depending on configuration, the Kia GT-Line has an impressive range, travelling between 370 km and 490 km on a single charge. The dual-motor GT-Line with the larger battery pack typically achieves around 386 km in real-world highway driving.
As standard, Sportage hybrid models come with a 12.3-in. infotainment screen, dual-zone climate control, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, 18-in. alloy wheels and a rotary-dial gear shifter.
The GT-Line comes with keyless entry, push-button start, a leather-appointed seat trim, a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats, eight-way power-adjustable driver and passenger seats and two-way lumbar support.
The front-drive, turbo-petrol hybrid Sportage has been two-and-a-half years in the making for Australia and worth the wait giving an excellent 4.9L/100 km combined fuel consumption figure and a claimed 8.0-second 0-100km/h acceleration claim.
To deliver exceptional car-like handling with comfort and dependability to suit Aussie roads, the Sportage was subjected to an extensive local test and handling tuning program over thousands of kilometres across urban, country, and outback roads.
It’s also worth noting that Kia’s parent brand Hyundai has its own mid-sized hybrid SUV alternative coming out later this year with the launch of the Tucson hybrid.
