Kia Motor India, which registered its best-ever annual sales of 280,286 passenger vehicles, up 14% YoY (CY2024: 245,000 units), has also recorded its highest-ever share of its parent company’s global sales for the year yet – 9% – since its market entry in August 2019.
Kia Corporation sold a record 3.13 million passenger vehicles in CY2025, up 1.50% YoY (CY2024: 3.08 million units), which makes its Indian business arm’s contribution even more strategic in Kia’s global scheme of things. This is Kia Corp’s best-ever calendar-year sales since it began automobile sales in 1962. Importantly, the Korean auto major successfully maintained global growth momentum last year through market-specific sales strategies, overcoming an uncertain industry environment, including tariff impacts. The company focused on hybrid expansion in the US and strengthened its market position in Europe through volume EV growth. Model-wise, the Sportage SUV was its best-selling model (569,688 units) globally, followed by the Seltos SUV (299,766 units) and the Sorento SUV (264,673 units). The overall global sales growth was also helped by the launch of new models such as the EV3, K4 sedan and hybrid Carnival MPV.
INDIA’S GROWING STATURE AS A KEY GLOBAL MARKET FOR KIA CORP
A deep dive into Kia’s global and its India market sales reveals that the Indian operation’s share of Kia global sales has steadily increased over the years – from 5.45% in CY2020 to 6.61% in CY2021, 8.77% in CY2022 and now at its highest level at 8.93% in CY2025 (see seven-year data table below).
Kia India’s wholesales of 280,286 vehicles in the domestic market give it an 8.93% share of Kia Corp’s global sales in CY2025. October 2025 (29,556 units) delivered its best-ever monthly wholesales.
Kia India, which kicked off domestic market sales in August 2019 as a virtually unknown brand in the country at the time, is the sixth-ranked passenger vehicle OEM in the country, after Maruti Suzuki (1.80 million units), Mahindra & Mahindra (625,603 units), Tata Motors, Hyundai Motor India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor in CY2025.
Starting with 45,226 units in the last five months of CY2019, Kia India has progressively increased its annual sales over the past six-and-a-half years. It surpassed the 250,000-unit mark for the first time in CY2022 (254,556 units, up 39%) and now three years later achieved a new high of 280,286 units. This makes for an 8.93% share of Kia Corporation’s global sales, which is a 1% increase over the 8% share in CY2024. The previous highest in terms of Kia India’s contribution to its parent company’s global sales was in CY2022, when it accounted for 8.77% (see data table above).
Since its market entry in August 2019 with a single product (Seltos), Kia India is now a formidable player in India’s passenger vehicle market with nine vehicles – the Seltos midsize SUV, Sonet and Syros compact SUVs, Carens, Carens Clavis, Carens Clavis EV and Carnival MPVs, and the EV6 and EV9 (CBU EVs). Kia India’s sales and service network is currently spread across 821 touchpoints across 369 cities.
While the Sonet (left) is Kia India’s best-selling model with over 100,000 units sold in CY2025, the Carens MPV, joined by new siblings Carens Clavis and Carens Clavis EV, was the No. 2 model.
SONET COMPACT SUV, CLAVIS MPV COMMAND OVER 64% OF KIA INDIA SALES
In terms of Kia India model-wise sales, the Sonet compact SUV is the best-seller in CY2025. According to the company, the Sonet crossed the 100,000-units wholesales milestone for the second year in a row. While specific model-wise numbers for December 2025 are yet to be released, the Kia India’s January-November 2025 wholesales depict the overall sales trend for last year.
In the first 11 months of CY2025, the Sonet topped the charts with 94,461 units and a 36% share of Kia India’s 261,627 units. The Carens MPV, which received new siblings in the form of the Clavis and Clavis EV, has risen to be the new No. 2 model (73,492 units, 28% share) and is ahead of the Seltos midsize SUV (66,831 units, 26% share). The Syros compact SUV, launched in January 2025, has sold 24,942 units for a 9.53% share of the company’s January-November sales. The No. 5 model is the luxurious Carnival MPV with 1,361 units, ahead of the EV6 (520 units) and EV9 (20 units).
In CY2026, Kia Corporation is targeting global sales of 3,350,000 units (3.35 million units) including 2,775,000 vehicles outside of Korea, 565,000 units in Korea and 10,000 special purpose vehicles worldwide. This year, the company plans to sustain sales momentum and enhance its global market presence by expanding its hybrid lineup for key SUV models, including the new Telluride and Seltos SUVs, while increasing production and reinforcing global supply chain sustainability.
With demand in global markets, particularly the US in the wake of new tariffs on imported models, expected to be uncertain this year, Kia Corp will be banking on Kia India, which has launched the new Seltos on January 2, to deliver the goods in the world’s third largest automobile market.
ALSO READ: Hyundai Motor Group chairman reveals strategic vision for 2026