Kia Australia is standing by its quirky Niro electrified crossover, despite the imminent launch of the new EV3 and EV5 SUVs that will no doubt eat into its sales.
Off the back of the international media drive for the new 2025 Kia EV3, general manager for product at Kia Australia, Roland Rivero, said the Niro will soldier on in Australia as long as the market wants it.
“For now, status quo – ultimately the market will decide,” Mr Rivero told CarExpert.
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Niro EV GT-Line
High pricing and somewhat limited supply has hampered the second-generation Niro’s success in Australia, which is currently offered locally in Hybrid (HEV) and Electric (EV) drivetrain variants, each in two trim levels.
Pricing starts from $45,000 for the HEV S and $66,590 for the EV S before on-road costs, both substantially more expensive than the equivalent Hyundai Kona Hybrid and Electric with which the Niro shares its underpinnings.
Since its launch in the Australian market, the Kia Niro has been in short supply as well. The company’s local arm has consistently said around 100-150 examples are allocated to Australia per month due to high global demand.
Of those 100-150 monthly examples, two-thirds are allocated to the HEV range and around 50 to the EV.
Niro HEV (Overseas model)
Between January and August 2024, 1064 Niros have been delivered in Australia, a decline of 11.0 per cent compared to the same period in 2023.
The Niro lags behind just about every other Kia nameplate on the VFACTS sales charts too, with the exception of the EV9 flagship (394 units YTD). Even the EV6 outsells the Niro HEV and EV range (1332 units YTD).
Globally, it appears the Niro has a solid future ahead given its enduring popularity in Europe, the UK and South Korea.
“We continue to sell the Niro EV together with the EV3 in the market, because each market has different tastes or customer preferences,” Kia Motors president Ho-Sung Song told media in May.
“Some markets still prefer the Niro EV, but maybe some markets going forward [will prefer] the EV3. In the meantime, Niro has a hybrid model, and we expect that there will be more weight for the Niro hybrid model rather than the EV model, when we launch the EV3.”
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