Kia is reportedly launching a new Seltos next year, and it’ll offer hybrid power as demand for fuel-sipping electrified powertrains surges.
Korean outlet ET News reports the next-generation Seltos will launch in the second half of 2025, offering a choice of petrol or hybrid powertrains.
Production will reportedly begin in August 2025. The current Seltos entered production back in 2019.
The new Seltos Hybrid is expected to feature the same powertrain as the Hyundai Kona Hybrid, but offer the option of an electronic all-wheel drive (E-AWD) system.
The front-wheel drive-only Kona Hybrid combines a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine with a 32kW/172Nm electric motor, a 1.32kWh battery pack, and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
Total system outputs are 104kW and 265Nm.
Kia already has a similarly sized hybrid SUV in the Niro, which also offers the option of an electric powertrain.
That sees the Niro overlap with the upcoming electric EV3, but Kia has said it sees room for both the electric Niro and EV3.
Kia Niro HEV
“We have focused the EV3 more on the EV-dedicated customers, and Niro will [have] more weight for hybrid customers,” Kia Motors president Ho-Sung Song told media.
That sets the upcoming Seltos Hybrid on a collision course with the Niro, which is only slightly larger externally (4420mm long vs 4385mm). It’s unclear how much the Seltos will grow in its next generation.
The Seltos is Kia’s small SUV offering in markets like Korea, North America and Australia, though it isn’t sold in Europe. There, Kia offers the Xceed, which also entered production in 2019 and is nearing the end of its lifecycle.
Kia confirmed at its Investor Day earlier this year it plans to expand its hybrid lineup from six models in 2024 to eight in 2026 and nine in 2028, with next-generation hybrid powertrains to offer improved performance, torque and fuel efficiency.
By expanding its hybrid lineup, it says it can help manage fluctuation in EV demand.
Demand for hybrids has been increasing in various markets as electric vehicle (EV) demand cools.
In Korea, for example, EV sales were down 0.8 per cent for the first four months of this year, while hybrid sales were up 40.8 per cent.
In Australia, EV sales were up 16.5 per cent for the first half of 2024 compared with the first half of last year, but hybrid sales were up 113.2 per cent.
MORE: Everything Kia Seltos
