Kia Sportage sets record in Australia as hybrids electrify sales

The Kia Sportage has had its best month of sales ever in Australia, with 2114 units registered during March 2024.

With sales up 148.4 per cent compared to March 2023 and up 53.2 per cent up year-to-date, the Sportage ranked 11th overall in VFACTS sales standings and was by far Kia’s top performer.

Kia Australia’s product planning boss, Roland Rivero, credited the launch of the new Sportage Hybrid at least partly for the record result – with 349 units of the electrified SUV registered.

Questioned about ongoing supply, Mr Rivero told CarExpert there’s definitely “room to move” compared to the supply-stricken Sorento Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid, as well as the upcoming Carnival Hybrid.

“The demand is clearly there [for Sportage Hybrid], and we’re constantly negotiating with the factory to get more units,” Mr Rivero said, opening the door for an increased monthly allocation beyond the originally promised 300/month rate.

It’s likely Kia Australia is able to wrangle more Sportage HEVs thanks to the fact the Korean factory Australia sources its vehicles from doesn’t have to supply Europe and North America with hybrids and plug-in hybrids as with the Sorento.

Europe and the UK instead source their Sportages from Kia Europe’s Slovakian facility.

Last we heard, supply of the Sorento HEV and PHEV, due to launch in facelifted form imminently, will remain limited to around 20 and 10 units respectively per month.

CarExpert is expecting Kia Australia to confirm pricing and specs for the updated range very soon.

In March the Sportage accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the Korean brand’s overall sales, almost double the volume of its second best seller for the month, the Cerato (1193 units, up 182 per cent).

Despite its record-breaking performance, the Sportage couldn’t manage a podium finish in the top-selling mid-sized SUV segment, finishing in fifth behind the Toyota RAV4 (5070), Mitsubishi Outlander (2764), Nissan X-Trail (2161) and Mazda CX-5 (2134).

Read our full VFACTS breakdown for March here.

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