Kia has posted its best-ever August sales in the U.S. market. With hybrid and electrified-vehicle sales rising sharply, it is also bringing the small electric SUV EV3, priced under $30,000, to the U.S. market. Kia is stepping up efforts to set a fourth consecutive annual sales record.

Electrek reported on Monday that Kia's U.S. unit sold 83,793 vehicles in the United States in August. That was up 1 percent from the same month a year earlier and marked a record for August.

Record sales also continued by model. In August, six models — Seltos, Carnival, K4, Telluride, Sportage and K5 — each set new monthly sales highs. Seltos sales rose 53 percent from a year earlier, while Carnival climbed 13 percent and K4 increased 7 percent. Telluride, Sportage and K5 each gained 4 percent. Cumulative U.S. sales from January to August totalled 590,377 vehicles, up 3 percent from the same period last year.

Hybrids and electrified vehicles in particular led the overall sales increase. Kia's hybrid sales in August jumped 99 percent from a year earlier, and electrified-vehicle sales rose 36 percent. Both segments marked record August volumes. Among hybrid models, Sportage Hybrid rose 40 percent, Sorento Hybrid increased 22 percent and Carnival Hybrid gained 15 percent.

The growth also continued on a year-to-date basis. From January to August, hybrid sales were up 111 percent from a year earlier, while electrified-vehicle sales rose 60 percent.

By contrast, pure EV sales were mixed by model. EV6 sales in August totalled 712 vehicles, down 60 percent from a year earlier, while EV9 fell 33 percent to 1,789. In cumulative sales, EV6 dropped 39 percent to 5,429. EV9 rose 12 percent to 10,474, but it was not enough to drive growth for the overall pure EV lineup.

Kia's new card in this situation is the EV3. EV3 is the smallest model in Kia's electric SUV lineup and targets the lowest price range. The starting price for the 2027 EV3 in the U.S. market is $29,890, excluding a $1,495 delivery fee. Kia expects EV3, alongside the new Chevrolet Bolt EV and Nissan Leaf, to form relatively affordable EV options in the U.S. market.

Eric Watson (에릭 왓슨), vice president for sales and operations at Kia's U.S. unit, projected that the EV3 rollout would allow Kia to maintain its record sales momentum through year-end. He said Kia is ultimately in a position to set a fourth consecutive annual sales record. EV3 will be sold in the United States in five trims: Light, Wind, Land, GT-Line and GT. It will be offered in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive variants.

The base Light front-wheel-drive model has a 58.3 kWh battery. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-rated driving range on a single charge is up to 221 miles, or about 355 km. Wind, Land, GT-Line and GT trims use an 81.4 kWh battery and can drive up to 321 miles, or about 516 km.

Pricing starts at $29,890 for the Light front-wheel-drive, the lowest-priced version. The Wind front-wheel-drive is $34,990 and the Wind all-wheel-drive is $38,690. The Land front-wheel-drive is $38,490 and the Land all-wheel-drive is $41,690. The GT-Line all-wheel-drive and GT all-wheel-drive are priced at $43,490 and $45,890, respectively.

It also secured charging convenience. All trims come standard with a North American Charging Standard (NACS) port, allowing use of Tesla Superchargers without a separate adapter. Using a 350 kW direct-current fast charger, the 58.3 kWh battery can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in about 29 minutes, and the 81.4 kWh battery in about 31 minutes.

Kia's U.S. electrification strategy can be summed up as expanding hybrid sales and improving price accessibility for pure EVs. As hybrid sales rise quickly, Kia aims to secure new demand in the pure EV market, where sales have been relatively weak, by deploying the EV3. With EV3 already posting strong sales in overseas markets including Britain and Europe, attention is on whether it can change the EV sales trend in the United States.