Kia is on its way to an 800,000 sales year, which is remarkable when you consider that the brand didn’t even sell 25,000 cars in all of 1995. At the current sales pace, the Korean automaker is selling more cars in two weeks than it sold in all of its second year on the market. How is the company doing it? There’s a clear plan in place, and it’s probably only going to get stronger in the coming years.
The Morning Dump is a roundup of car-related news that’s tilted towards industry happenings, which makes it a record of a moment in time for automakers. While I personally didn’t love my Subaru ownership experience, it’s worth mentioning that the latest consumer satisfaction data shows that I am very much in the minority.
Could Chinese automakers follow in the footsteps of Japanese and Korean car companies? If anyone is going to do it, it might be a company like Xiaomi, which is planning a bit of a European vacation of the non-Griswold variety. And, finally, I went to a bunch of auctions last week to see the cars, and there was one set of sales that surprised me.
Kia Has A Nearly Flawless Lineup
Kia has a great resource on its media site that allows journalists to pull up sales data for any month in the company’s roughly 30-year history in the United States. In July of 2025, Kia sold 71,123 vehicles. Most of those were some sort of crossover, although the brand did a healthy business in small cars a well. There are electric cars and, more importantly, there are hybrids.
What was July 1995 like? The company then only sold two models, the Sephia and the Sportage. Contrary to what you’d expect these days, the little crossover Sportage only garnered 919 sales, whereas the diminutive Sephia sedan had nearly double the sales at 1,743. In terms of growth, the change in Sportage sales over that time is an eyelid-scrunching 3,406%.
I mention all of this because of a story today in Automotive News about the success of the brand, which zeroes in on some of the strengths of the company:
Kia America is delivering on its promise to strike the right balance of electrified and internal combustion offerings.
The Korean automaker just freshened the Sportage, its No. 1 seller and longest-running nameplate. The compact crossover is one of three vehicles that offers gasoline, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
For 2026, the popular Telluride is expected to add a hybrid powertrain to its lineup, following in the footsteps of the Carnival hybrid, which joined the roster last year.
Even with tariff confusion, the brand says it expects to grow to more than 800,000 sales in the United States this year. That would be an increase over last year and put it ahead of brands like Jeep, Subaru, GMC, and Mazda. It’ll even get the brand closer to Nissan, which is withdrawing, while Kia is expanding.
My theory on Kia goes beyond the obvious, which is that the company offers an attractive mix of electric vehicles, regular gas-powered vehicles, and a lot of hybrids. That’s only part of the story. For a non-domestic automaker, Kia currently has the most optimized lineup, and this is testable because Hyundai has almost an identical one. While Hyundai has been historically the bigger of the two companies (Hyundai absorbed Kia into itself), Kia is now nearly as big.
How? What Kia is doing is a one-two punch of offering competitive products with multiple powertrains in key segments and picking up segments that everyone else has abandoned. The Sportage is a popular alternative to vehicles like the Escape, and on par with something like the Toyota RAV4 (so much so that it’s mostly preference). I’d take a Sportage over any comparable vehicle from any of the Big Three.
Which small car does the extremely popular Kia K4 compete with from those companies? Literally no cars. There’s nothing in any of the Big Three lineups that’s a small car (the Fiat 500, but that’s an expensive EV now). The same for the Kia K5 and Kia Soul (the Traiblazer, maybe?).
Another key to me is the Carnival, which now offers a hybrid (review coming, but it’s predictably great on fuel) and is seeing sales up 52% year-over-year. The only Big Three automaker with a minivan is Stellantis, and part of that might just be because, without it, Chrysler would have exactly zero cars.
What Kia doesn’t do, that Hyundai does, is have a truck. Given how strong the truck market is in the United States, you’d think that would be an issue. I think not having a truck is the better play. While I like the Santa Cruz, it’s not a big hit and has been largely overshadowed by the Maverick. That’s an extremely hard market to compete in, and getting people to switch from Rangers to Tasmins, or whatever, isn’t worth the effort. It hasn’t worked for anyone other than Toyota, and even then, Toyota’s full-size truck remains an also-ran in the truck space.
Instead, Kia’s future is built on affordable and fun vehicles in mostly empty niches like the K4 Hatch and a small electric van that’s coming in 2027. I don’t see another automaker that has the range, frankly, and that includes Hyundai.
Subaru Tops Toyota In Consumer Satisfaction Survey
The annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Automobile Study is out, and Subaru broke its tie with Toyota by reaching an overall satisfaction of 85%, ahead of Mazda, which is now on par with Toyota at 82%. Buick, GMC, and Honda are all pretty close at 81%.
What’s leading Subaru’s victory? Here’s how ASCI describes the results:
Subaru continues its success by leaning into a reputation for safety and dependability. It has enjoyed strong sales growth in recent years, which could carry over into 2025 with offerings like a redesigned Forester, the availability of a more powerful Crosstrek engine, and new trim options for the Ascent and Outback.
Hyundai improves 3% this year, climbing to a score of 80. Meanwhile, Stellantis nameplates, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram all slip.
Most customer experience metrics were unchanged this year. Driving performance remains high at 84, followed by dependability, mobile app quality, and vehicle safety at 83 each. Vehicle safety is one of the three scores that decline 1%, along with exterior at 82 and technology at 79.
Stellantis has a long way to go.
Xiaomi Says It’s Coming To Europe In 2027
The most talked-about brand in 2025 is probably China’s Xiaomi, which is a remarkable achievement given that the company is only going to sell about 300-400,000 cars this year, and almost all of those will be in China. According to Bloomberg, it’s not content to stay in China:
Xiaomi Corp. intends to sell its first electric vehicle in Europe by 2027, declaring plans to take on Tesla Inc. and BYD Co. globally after gaining traction with its year-old Chinese EV business.
President Lu Weibing shed more light on the company’s expansion plans after reporting a 31% rise in quarterly revenue, riding the successful launch of its second electric vehicle over the summer. That helped counter slowing demand for smartphones.
Xiaomi has previously described ambitions to go global, though it’s never specified a target market. Europe is a common destination for Chinese carmakers like BYD seeking to tap a more lucrative arena, while governments across the continent are wooing Chinese EV and battery firms in part to mitigate impact from US tariffs.
This is more bad news for Tesla, which is rapidly shrinking in the European market.
You Won’t Believe What This 2017 Viper Just Sold For
I think enthusiasts are all obsessed with the first two generations of Viper, which makes sense. I get it. I want a second-gen GTS coupe. I’m only human.
The last generation Viper, though? That’s a great supercar. If you’ve got to put thousands of miles on a Viper, I think it’s the one to have. I am apparently not alone. A 2017 Dodge Viper GTC ACR Extreme Aero Package sold at Broad Arrow Auctions at the Monterey Jet Center this week for an unbelievable $406,500.
Are these cars worth that much? I know this is a particularly unique car, but it’s still a last-gen Viper. Another model, this one with only 350 miles on the Odo, sold for $357,000, so it’s not exactly a fluke.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s “California” by Phantom Planet, because I also spent last week driving down the 101. And the 5. A lot of the 5.
The Big Question
Who does it better than Kia?
Photo: Kia
Kia ICE vehicles are a miss for me. At this point if it has an engine it is going to be a hybrid and I’m not a fan of Kia / Hyundai’s approach. That take a standard 1.6L turbo engine and 6 speed auto a slap a 60 hp electric motor between the engine and tranny.
I much prefer the Honda approach with 2 motors with the one driving the wheels making 181 HP / 247 lb-ft that feels much more like an electric vehicle.
A friend of mine got their new Niro Hybrid’s oil changed at the dealer, drove it home, and the next morning the carport had a huge puddle of oil in it. Don’t know whether the tech left the old washer on or didn’t install a new one, but the dealer paid for the tow to fix it. The oil stain in the carport is probably there for good, though.
Kia might be doing a great job in the market, but the front end in that top shot looks like it was designed using the graphic tools in Microsoft Office.
I don’t care for minivans but I would be all over the Carnival if I wanted one. I eagerly look forward to the K4 Hatchback. Snobs like to look down their noses but something is happening here that can’t be attributed to only low prices and easy financing.
I have been desperately seeking a reason to buy a Carnival, but two people and two dogs don’t quite justify that much space.
I guess I could be a more involved uncle, but… children.
Children are harder on cars than dogs. But get the minivan. Get more dogs. Be much happy
Throw in some cats, too!
Making a full lineup of affordable cars that all look unique (and for the large part, actually cool) keeping on top of trends and quickly incorporating them into design, and a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty.
They have been stealing not just new car competitors’ sales, but because of that warranty coupled with easy financing, they are a good alternative to a lot of USED cars as well.
The only thing I’d consider a Kia for is the most basic economy car that would be used for commuting in a rust belt state, so I wouldn’t feel bad about destroying a good car. And I’d ditch it as soon as the warranty was up.
The Soul is tempting in that respect. For about $20k it is decently equipped, gets 35 mpg highway, is a nice utilitarian box shape, and a full warranty.
I’m shopping for a SUV and thought the Telluride is still an attractive package compared to the Grand Highlander and Pilot. On the whole, it seems they and the old Palisade are generally reliable. Yes, there are some stories on oil consumption on forums, and some stories about suspension parts needing replacement too early (warrantied in some cases), but there are people on the internet complaining about their Grand Highlander and Pilot too. So who knows.
The new Palisade is hard to ignore too, especially with the hybrid, even if my practical side tells me to not sign up for a turbo’d hybrid on a brand new model from Hyundai. I’ve driven a newish Sorento Hybrid and it was a very nice car.
Maybe if buying a Grand Highlander wasn’t a nightmare, I’d have one by now, but instead I’m wondering if the Palisade would be such a bad idea.
I think you mean the Kia Tasman, rather than Tasmin. They’ve launched here in Australia as a competitor to the Ranger. The looks are… probably the biggest miss in their current lineup which is a shame, though it’s too early to tell if it’s putting off buyers. That or the fact it’s apparently a bit underpowered for the price (4cyl diesel vs 6cyl diesel in some of the Rangers).
be my best to buy a kia. But after buying a hyundai i’ll PROBABLY never buy a korean car again. they rapidly deteriorate after they hit 80k miles. Also I called a dealership one time to get a wait time on a diagnostic and they told me they had a “40” day wait time. I thought i misheard and had them repeat, they did in fact say FORTY DAYS just to get a diagnostic.
I applaud Kia and Hyundai for sweeping their engine problems under the rug enough for journalists to write articles like this. Every. Single. Person I know with a 2015+ Elantra had their engine replaced within 5 years. Every one of them. The latest example was my own girlfriend. Her 2020 Elantra was leaking oil all over my driveway. I checked the oil behind her, and she always stayed on top of keeping it full. I forced her to make an appointment about the oil leak, but the engine blew up before Hyundai could fix the leak. One day she called me from her job and said her engine was knocking. She cut off the car, checked the oil–it was full. She had it towed to Hyundai, and still it needed a new engine. She’d done everything right, but Hyundai made her use her extended warranty even though the factory one was still valid, so she paid $900 for a new engine on a 2020 car with like 60,000 miles. Oh, and her silver paint is peeling off the c-pillars. But like I said, she wasn’t the only one. My sister’s ex husband owned a Camry for a decade with no issues. He traded it for a new Elantra, and the engine blew up in 3 years. A friend from school had her Elantra engine blow up around 5 years old. I’m not convinced that Hyundai/Kia will remain unstoppable if they can’t fix their engines. I would recommend any other brand first.
Really? Pretty sure Toyota owns that title and has for a very long time – both literally and figuratively.
I currently own a Kia; it was bought new off the lot in 2018 for a song, as it was a 2018 model leftover in 2018. My taste has largely soured with the brand. I have no real issues with the dealership, it was fine. But between the Kiaboyz, CVTs, and ugly styling, I’d rather give my money to Honda or Toyota where at least there will be a solid resale value on the backend. And while my NA motor hasn’t had any issues, there’s not a chance I roll the dice with a turbo Kia drivetrain.
A note about styling. Obviously, styling is somewhat subjective, yet it’s hard to argue that any of their vehicles are traditionally beautiful. Some of them look interesting, but after about six months of seeing them on the road my opinion has usually shifted more negative. They certainly have nothing like 2018 Mazda 6, with clean elegant lines.
I do, however, hope that the K4 will put pressure on Honda to make the Civic hatch more like a wagon and less like a fastback.
I know someone who had a Optima 2.0T for about 12 years since new – no significant issues. Maintained by the book. Yes, just one example, but they are out there.
Probably because Hyundai has been beating its cars with the ugly stick over the past few years.
Man, how bad do you have to screw the pooch for China to seem like the lesser evil?
Go full Nazi.
Generally the engines on Kias take care of the unstoppable aspect
Vincible.
All I see here in the comments are generally how awful Kia is with quality and how awful their dealer network is. A majority of the people I know have bought nothing but Kia and have had no issues with any of them. I don’t even hear them complain about their dealers. You’d think at least one of those people would say just how awful the experience is but maybe I’m the outlier here?
I’ve had two Kia’s a Sedona and now a Carnival and never an issue. Now my Cherokee and even my Tacoma are different stories altogether.
I think Kia is doing it despite the dealer network…..or perhaps, the network has actually improved and those of us with past experience at how terrible it was (I was refused a Stinger test drive like it was some rare Ferrari when I was ready to buy. Literally, the phrase “can’t just let anybody drive it” was uttered) haven’t gone back to see the difference…
I bought a used Stinger from a Honda dealership, they handed me the keys and were like “see you in 30 minutes”
Another classic before that was “I can’t quote you an out the door price on a Niro unless you promise not to share it with other dealers.” I don’t think they understood how commerce works….
One of my ex-girlfriends had a Forte5 that drank oil like an old V8 gulped down fuel. The engine grenaded at 92,000 miles after the engine burned so much oil that it ran dry in between gas tanks and she didn’t refill it in time.
She didn’t complain one bit about the car having the oil equivalent of MPG or the fact that the engine seized up. She just wanted the warranty to cover the engine replacement, which it did. I wonder how many people are like her and have a high tolerance for mechanical shenanigans.
Come to think of it, my parents are also like her. Their old camper has been destroyed by water damage twice, and yet they keep repairing it. Hmmm…
I know t I would be jumping for joy if my Kia engine grenaded at 92k, just within the 100k warranty.
That was her view! I wonder how the replacement engine is doing today? Maybe it’s time to check in on my ex. Ha. 🙂
My niece had basically the exact same experience at similar mileage, ran out of oil on I-75 in Michigan locked up and got a motor changeout under warranty and I was pretty shocked they did it for her. All she needed to present was an oil change receipt within 5000 miles of the failure. Now this has to be costing Kia/Hyundai a LOT of money but apparently they are keeping the new car sales going.
My girlfriend didn’t even need to do that! She had it towed in, the dealership guys tore it down, and they came to the conclusion that it was the engine’s fault without even checking her service history. I still wonder how gnarly it must have looked in there.
It seems a good number of people in my area lease the high end Kias/Hyundais i.e. Telluride/Palisade. Perhaps that experience avoids a lot of the downside of owning.
In my 20s, I was broke, and desperately needed a better car than the clunker I was driving. The dealership advertised that if you had $200 and a job you could walk out with a brand new car! And they weren’t lying, I did get that, although the first loan was at something like 20% interest (I refinanced it a year later with my bank for a much better rate).
I ended up with a 2009 Kia Rio. It was small and cheap, and *felt* cheap (I think this was right before their quality began to dramatically improve).
But damn, that thing drove around for 10 years and 125,000 miles without any mechanical issues.
While I haven’t purchased another one (I did test-drive an EV6 while shopping for my current car), people in my family have purchased 5 or 6 Kias since and never had any issues with them.
That’s the car. The dealer experience in 2009 was absolutely awful, and the dealer eventually went to jail for fraud.
It does seem like they tend to have a number of issues shortly after purchase, at which point you get to deal with their lovely dealer network, who apparently excels in preferring that you fuck all the way off.
Overall, the vehicles seem to be built specifically to be enticing values with interesting (both in good, and otherwise, ways) and win JD Power Initial Quality awards. After which, welp, you’re either stuck in a lease or a loan and…enjoy.
I do not own one, but this seems to be what I’ve gathered…
Kia vehicles are indeed selling like nobody’s business but there is NO way I’m passing over a Toyota,Mazda,or Honda for a Kia.They lose so much value and they just don’t hold up over the long haul.New vehicles are always nice but being happy after the payments disappear are two different animals.
That is my sentiment as well. The few grand more for a Civic Hybrid over and Elantra or a K4 seems well worth it in my mind.
Nice pic of the Kia K4 hatchback. When is that thing coming out?? it was revealed March of 2024!
Only a teeny detail but the original Sportage was body-on-frame.
Anyways, I’m unhappy their penchant for oddball cost-cutting costing customers big in the future at random is part of a winning strategy but what can I say?
Enjoyed my Sorento for what it was but sick of the lifetime fill AWD clutch destined to die, worrying about losing my engine in the middle of nowhere or being vandalized/stolen in a city.
Not to mention the many other disparate causes of fire that most didn’t quite affect my model. Saw that famous alleged still-frozen-after-being-on-fire Stanley(?) cup lady had the same generation Sorento anyway.
I’m glad that the current crop of engines aren’t seizing like before but I just can’t help but feel there’s some other shoe waiting to drop in a few years.
Other than those important bits, it was a comfortable, handsome enough, well-designed and packaged machine. They made good first impressions and my rental Hyundai’s and Kia’s since are solid machines, although the last Sonata had the seatbelt buckle installed backwards and some buttons that didn’t work.
But of course I remember being among the “Hyundai and Kia are good NOW” crowd a decade ago and folks have been saying it every year since.
Kia does really well at checking boxes. They can point to a lot of standard equipment. They can offer a competitive price in most product categories. They can point to metrics like screen size or interior volume and compete with more expensive vehicles. They boast a long warranty.
If you are buying based on features and price, they probably look like the best value. I know I bought one for that reason…but the dealerships suck, the cars don’t end up being that great, and I don’t value a warranty if I need to use it too much.
And they struggle to provide a great experience with their products. A RAV4 Prime offers a much better handoff from EV to gas than the Sportage PHEV and lets you accelerate much more on EV without kicking on the engine. A Niro has great gas mileage, but the size and shape is kind of awkward for getting stuff into/out of it. A Prius has better usable trunk.
I’ll give them some credit, though. Their ventilated seats are better than Toyota’s. The best I’ve used were in a Chrysler 300, but my Niro wasn’t bad (as long as you had the passenger A/C running when you used the driver’s seat ventilation) and the EV6 was pretty good too.
I don’t value the warranty if the dealer you rely on to utilize it is awful. That is the question with Hyundai/Kia.
I realize not every car is going to be like my Toyota that ran for 170k miles with zero problems, but if something does go wrong under warranty, just freaking take care of the customer.
The Hyundai/Kia cars might be good, but the dealership experience SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kia/Hyundai’s design and execution is world-class. As attractive as they are on paper, I would never buy or recommend companies that treat their customers like dogshit.
Their terrible attitude toward consumers stems from always putting profit over people. This is clear from start to finish: from sales process to owner support, everything screams “we don’t care to take responsibility when things go wrong” Even in recent history, their high rate of denial for warranties, long wait times for warranty repairs, and the immobilizer debacle (and subsequent lawsuits, over 15 at last count?) are major signs they put themselves first, customers last.
Yes, all companies exist to make money, but it’s evident that Kia is far in the deep end of the greed pool.
Ford Pinto would like a word if you have a moment. All car companies and dealers don’t give a flying fuck about the customer. It is and always will be about the $$$$. Some couch their distain with nice lounges and espresso machines and better dressed thieves but in the end they could care a whit. Add to that they know precious little about what they are selling and that is embarrassing for an Autopian.
oh yeah, that’s for sure. Pinto-era Ford was even WORSE than Kia/Hyundai. I’m saying there’s a range to the greed scale and I’m gonna support the companies that are at least on the lower end.
So we should buy a Morgan. I’m in on that
What exactly does Hyundai/Kia have that Toyota doesn’t? Low margin EVs?
There was a time when I would have said “affordable pricing,” but I am not even sure that is true anymore.
Generally cheaper still I think. A Telluride for example is cheaper than a Grand Highlander, but can be had for about the same price as a Pilot. The Telluride does have some features that Honda doesn’t even offer at that price.
When we bought our 2012 Sorento in Dec ’11, it was decked out in amentities that nobody else could match in that price range (high 20’s with a third row of seats seemed preposterous at the time!).
~270K miles later, it’s been a kid hauler for 13+ years, and still holds up. I will say that some of the cheaper stuff in the interior has failed – mostly plastic bits around AC vents and knobs on the stereo (they still function, but their covers fell off).
With tarriffs and inflation, are they still a good deal?
Inventory and fun colors? I did shop the EV6 and bought an Ioniq 5, to your point though LOL
More EV choices? Toyota only has one EV.
Let me know when those EVs print as much money as Toyotas trucks and BoF SUVs. Kia/Hyundai are missing massive market segments. Toyota is only missing relatively niche subsegments.
Kia is a brand I really admire, yet nothing they sell really checks the boxes for me — just a wee bit too screen-heavy on most models. And the aesthetics seem like an acquired taste, like all of them are 90% finished and still have a few questionable elements in an otherwise finished package. And the wheels are mostly horrible, which is a major part of the aesthetics.
I remember it taking YEARS before anyone knew how to pronounce Sephia and Sportage (I still give it a French inflection of “sport-AHHJJ” just for my own internal nostalgia, and IMO it’s the best all-around car they offer)
Kia/ Hyundai do a lot of things well, but I am still not sure I want anything they make currently, outside of the Genesis brand of vehicles. I did like the Telluride, for the price and considering the NA v6 over a 2.0 Turbo for power, I might buy one of those, but I would want it to be able to at least tow 7,000 lbs, and it stops at 5k lbs from what I have read.