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Kia EV2 Wants to Be the Budget Electric Crossover That Doesn’t Feel Like One

Kia’s electric onslaught continues, and this time it’s aimed squarely at the heart of Europe’s fastest-growing segment. Meet the Kia EV2, a B-segment electric crossover that’s lining up to take swings at the reborn Renault 4 and Volkswagen’s upcoming ID Cross—while promising the longest range of the bunch and a price that undercuts most of them.

Unveiled at the Brussels motor show, the EV2 is the smallest and cheapest member of Kia’s dedicated EV family, slotting in below the EV3 and EV4. It rides on a simplified version of the brand’s E-GMP platform and will be built in Žilina, Slovakia, alongside the EV4. That European production could make it eligible for incentives like the UK’s electric car grant, which matters when your target price is a hair under €30,000 (about £25,000). Kia’s product and pricing boss Alex Papapetropolous says some trims will dip even lower—and that’s no accident. More than a quarter of the European market lives below that €30K line, and Kia clearly wants a piece of it.

Visually, the EV2 doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a baby SUV. It borrows the squared-off stance and pixelated details of its larger siblings, wrapped around a compact footprint designed to maximize usable space. At 4060 mm long, it’s slightly shorter than the Renault 4, but with an 1800-mm width and a 2565-mm wheelbase, it’s clearly been stretched where it counts. The revised “tiger face” front end gives it family resemblance without overdoing the sci-fi.

Powertrain options are straightforward but competitive. Standard Range models launch first, using a 42.2-kWh LFP battery good for a claimed 196 miles of range and a 145-hp front-mounted motor. The Long Range version arrives later with a larger 61.0-kWh NMC pack, stretching range to an impressive 278 miles—comfortably ahead of the Renault 4’s 254-mile max—paired with a slightly less powerful 134-hp motor. No all-wheel drive here: the EV2’s cost-conscious E-GMP variant uses a torsion-beam rear suspension instead of the multilink setup needed to package a rear motor.

Charging hardware reflects the EV2’s urban mission. It runs on a 400-volt system rather than the 800-volt architecture of the EV6 and EV9, but Kia claims both batteries can charge from 10 to 80 percent in about 30 minutes. More interesting is AC charging: the EV2 will be Kia’s first model available with both 11-kW and 22-kW onboard chargers, a big win for city dwellers who rely on public or workplace charging.

Inside, the EV2 feels familiar but intentionally simplified. The dash is dominated by three screens—a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a 5.3-inch climate display, and a 12.3-inch central touchscreen—running a new “lite” version of Kia’s infotainment software. The idea is to keep costs down without sacrificing essentials like over-the-air updates. Practicality gets equal billing: buyers can choose between four- and five-seat layouts. The four-seater uses individual reclining rear chairs that slide forward to open up as much as 403 liters of cargo space, while the five-seater still manages a respectable 362 liters. Both versions add a small 15-liter frunk up front.

Trim details are still being finalized, but Kia has confirmed a range-topping GT-Line with 19-inch wheels and sportier styling touches. Lesser trims will roll on 16- or 18-inch wheels, presumably in the name of efficiency—and cost control.

The EV2 doesn’t chase headline performance numbers or futuristic gimmicks. Instead, it plays the long game: solid range, sensible packaging, and pricing that undercuts rivals without feeling stripped bare. If Kia delivers on its promises, the EV2 could become the default recommendation for buyers who want an electric crossover that fits real-world budgets—and real-world lives.

Source: KIA

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Kia Hits Historic High in 2025 U.S. Sales

Kia didn’t just have a good year—it had a landmark one. With 852,155 vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2025, Kia cleared the 800,000-sales barrier for the first time in its American history, posting a 7 percent gain over 2024 and locking in its third consecutive all-time annual sales record. That’s not a blip or a rebound. That’s momentum.

Zoom out a little and the picture sharpens. Retail sales through Kia dealers rose 5 percent year over year, marking eight straight years of growth and a sixth consecutive retail sales record. The payoff? Kia’s highest-ever U.S. market share, a data point that matters far more than bragging rights. It suggests Kia isn’t just selling more cars—it’s taking customers from someone else.

At the heart of that growth is a lineup that hits the market’s sweet spots with unusual consistency. SUVs continue to do the heavy lifting, with Kia’s utility vehicles up 5 percent for the year. Electrified models climbed an even stronger 24 percent, while sedans—supposedly a dying breed—quietly surged 13 percent year over year. That three-pronged success story explains why Kia’s sales charts don’t hinge on a single hero product.

Still, some heroes deserve naming. Four Kia models posted their best-ever annual sales totals in 2025: the Carnival minivan (+44 percent), Sportage (+13 percent), Telluride (+7 percent), and the K4 (+1 percent). Among them, the Sportage stands tallest, delivering the best annual sales performance of any Kia model ever. With 182,823 units sold in 2025, it didn’t just outperform its 2024 self—it rewrote Kia’s internal record book.

The Telluride, meanwhile, continues to justify its reputation as one of the most successful three-row SUVs of the past decade. Sales climbed to 123,281 units, up from 115,504 the year before, even as competition in the segment gets fiercer and pricier. The Carnival’s leap—from 49,726 units in 2024 to 71,917 in 2025—is especially notable in a minivan segment that’s more stable than explosive. Kia didn’t just steal sales here; it capitalized on families realizing that sliding doors still make a lot of sense.

Sedans deserve their own footnote. The K4/Forte line finished the year at 140,514 units, essentially flat year over year but still a massive volume play. The K5, however, surged from 46,311 units in 2024 to 72,751 in 2025, proving there’s life left in the midsize sedan when styling, pricing, and feature content line up.

Not every column in the sales table points upward. EVs were a mixed bag in raw numbers. The EV9 and EV6 both saw year-over-year declines compared with 2024, with EV9 sales landing at 15,051 units and EV6 at 12,933. But taken together—and combined with electrified versions of gas models—Kia’s electrified portfolio still set a new annual sales record. In a cooling EV market, holding ground and building long-term credibility can matter more than chasing short-term spikes.

December closed the year on a steady note. Kia delivered 75,003 vehicles in the final month of 2025, edging past December 2024’s total. Sportage (16,869 units) and Telluride (12,158 units) again anchored the brand’s month-end performance, while the K4/Forte posted a strong 13,595-unit finish.

Beyond sales, Kia spent 2025 padding its trophy case. The upcoming 2027 Telluride earned a spot on Newsweek magazine’s list of 2026’s Most Anticipated New Vehicles, a nod to just how much weight that nameplate now carries. Safety credentials also stacked up. The 2026 Sorento secured the IIHS’s TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating for models built after September 2025, bringing the total number of Kia vehicles earning that top-tier designation in 2025 to five. Joining the Sorento are the 2026 Sportage, 2025 K4, 2025 EV9, and 2025 Telluride—each tested under the IIHS’s toughest protocols to date.

Kia’s leadership is understandably bullish. Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America and Kia America, points to the brand’s record sales and market share as proof of its competitive strength—and he’s not wrong. With a second-generation Telluride and a highly anticipated K4 hatchback arriving in showrooms in the first quarter, Kia isn’t planning to coast into the new year.

The bigger takeaway, though, is this: Kia has evolved from a value alternative into a full-spectrum brand with credible answers in nearly every major segment. When minivans, compact SUVs, midsize sedans, and three-row family haulers are all firing at once, sales records stop looking accidental. If 2025 proved anything, it’s that Kia’s climb isn’t just continuing—it’s getting harder for the rest of the industry to ignore.

Source: KIA

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Kia Wants Out of a Carnival Door Lawsuit—and Says the Danger Is Only Theoretical

Kia’s Carnival minivan is supposed to be the sensible choice—the sliding-door Swiss Army knife of modern family transport. But now the automaker is trying to convince a federal judge that a class-action lawsuit over those very doors shouldn’t even get a foot in the courtroom.

In a motion filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Kia is asking for the dismissal of a lawsuit targeting 2022 and 2023 Carnival models. The reason? According to Kia, the case is built less on real-world damage and more on what might happen, someday, if everything goes wrong at once.

The lawsuit was brought by Rachael and Andrew Langerhans, owners of a 2022 Carnival SX. They allege that the power sliding doors on their van stopped responding properly to people or objects while closing, a problem they say first appeared in late 2021. Their complaint echoes years of consumer reports describing similar behavior—doors that don’t seem eager to stop when something’s in the way.

That concern isn’t entirely theoretical. The issue gained wider attention after multiple complaints and at least nine reported injuries connected to Carnival sliding doors. Kia responded in early 2023 with a recall covering 2022–2023 models, rolling out a software update that adds warning chimes when the doors begin to open or close.

The plaintiffs, however, argue that this fix is more bandaid than cure. Their lawsuit claims Kia failed to address what they see as the core issue: the amount of force required to activate the doors’ pinch sensors. Without lowering that threshold, they argue, the doors may still pose a risk—particularly to children.

They’re asking for more than $5 million in damages. Kia, unsurprisingly, disagrees with just about every part of that.

In its motion to dismiss, Kia characterizes the lawsuit as speculative, emphasizing that neither the Langerhans nor their children have reported any injuries caused by the doors. In Kia’s words, the couple simply “have concerns about the possibility of the doors closing on them or their children.”

The automaker goes further, arguing that the plaintiffs haven’t even shown that the alleged defect still exists after the recall. Until they can plausibly explain why the fix didn’t work—or demonstrate an ongoing problem—Kia says the dispute is hypothetical at best.

Kia also questions what, exactly, the plaintiffs are seeking compensation for. According to the filing, the lawsuit doesn’t clearly allege any current damages, making it unclear what the court would be expected to remedy.

And then there’s the legal kill switch. Kia notes that when the Langerhans bought their Carnival, they agreed to binding arbitration. If that agreement is enforced, the case wouldn’t just lose momentum—it would be barred from court entirely.

For now, the Carnival’s sliding doors remain open in the court of public opinion, even as Kia tries to close them firmly in federal court. Whether the judge agrees that this lawsuit is all noise and no pinch remains to be seen.

Source: Carcomplaints, Pacemonitor