USAKia closed the first half of 2026 with 405,785 vehicles sold in the US, up 6% and the best half-year in the brand’s history there. June was its best month on record at 70,507 units, up 10%, and Q2 set a quarterly record of 218,310 vehicles, up 5%.
The growth is concentrated in hybrids. Electrified sales are up 38% year-to-date, and the model-level numbers show where that came from: the Sportage Hybrid rose 165%, the Sorento Hybrid 114%, the Carnival Hybrid 56%, the Seltos 56%, and the Telluride 24%. Only two models went backwards, and one of them was the EV6, Kia’s dedicated electric crossover. The K4 sedan was the other.
That split matters more than the headline record. Kia’s US lineup now offers a hybrid version of nearly every high-volume crossover it sells, and those variants are absorbing the demand that the brand’s EV models were built to capture. The pattern is the same one Hyundai reported for the same period, and both companies are drawing the same conclusion: in the US, the hybrid versions of existing nameplates are outgrowing the purpose-built electric ones by a wide margin.
Kia has not broken out how much of the electrified 38% is hybrid rather than EV, so the exact ratio is unclear. What the model-level figures do establish is that the brand’s record half was built on gasoline-electric crossovers, not on the EV lineup.
The facelifted fifth-generation Kia Sportage (2026 MY) spans naturally aspirated, turbo, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains from 149 to 265 hp, sold in short- and long-wheelbase forms depending on market.
The Kia Carnival Hybrid is the hybrid version of Kia's three-row MPV for the US market, pairing a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with an electric motor for 242 hp combined and an EPA-rated 32 mpg. It seats seven or eight and starts at $41,390.
The facelifted fourth-generation Kia Sorento is a three-row midsize SUV offered with naturally aspirated, turbo, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains up to 281 hp, priced from around $33,635 in the US.
The Kia Telluride is a three-row midsize SUV built for the US market, sold through the 2020-2024 model years before Kia moved to the redesigned second generation. Every version uses a 291 hp 3.8-litre V6 with an 8-speed automatic, front-wheel drive standard and all-wheel drive available. Prices ranged from $35,990 to $53,185.
The second-generation Kia Seltos launched in Korea in January 2026, with a 1.6-litre turbo petrol up to 193 hp and a 141 hp hybrid version due to join the lineup during 2026. Prices start from around ₩24.77 million in Korea.
