Despite many, many shoppers keeping their old cars a little longer, Kia just couldn't help having its best-ever May sales this year. The automaker sold a healthy 80,502 vehicles last month, a slight increase over May 2025's 79,007 sales, with success largely buoyed up by the new and improved 2027 Telluride, plus a surprising little surge for the EV9 electric crossover and continued popularity of the Carnival minivan. Clearly, the South Korean automaker's secret sauce is proving very appetizing with consumers. Family-Sized Vehicles Rule The Roost Last month, the automaker's most popular offering was the Sportage small crossover, whose 18,405 new homes represents a 7.8 percent increase from the same month in 2025. But despite a much higher price point, the Telluride's 13,665 sales represented the silver medal for Kia's May 2026 showroom sales, as well as a tidy improvement of 18 percent compared to May 2025. The third place nod went to the K4, which actually lost out a little bit compared to last year despite the arrival of an appealing new hatchback variant. Still, the compact sedan moved 12,592 units. KiaNext came the midsize three-row Sorento, whose 10,127 sales were an improvement of about 11 percent from May 2025. Somewhat surprisingly, the spacious Carnival minivan followed the Sorento with 8,062 sales, up 16 percent from last year. The Carnival outsold much less expensive products like the Seltos subcompact SUV, the Niro hybrid, and the K5 midsize sedan. A Surprising Showing From Kia EVs Despite gloomy news all over the industry about a contracting market for electric cars, Kia's pair of battery-powered crossovers did alright in May 2026. The three-row EV9 proved to be the more popular of the two, and while its 1,647 sales aren't too impressive on their own, they do represent a 4,400 percent improvement from May 2025's 37 sales. The EV6 didn't fare as well, with its 708 sales representing a decline of 93 units compared to last year's 801, but the relatively flat performance is probably a good sign considering the poor sales of many other electric cars.That portends good things for the soon-to-arrive Kia EV3, which will occupy the Soul-shaped hole in the automaker's lineup. The EV3 is expected to arrive at dealers this autumn, and it's expected to start at around $32,000 to give the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt EV a little more competition in the entry-level electric segment.KiaCarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters It's telling that the third-bestselling car in Kia's lineup is a small sedan that barely cracks $30,000 fully loaded. Despite the average transaction price of a new vehicle hovering around $50,000, there's clearly some pushback from new-car shoppers who want a nice ride without spending their entire nest egg or subjecting themselves to predatory loan terms. It's also very possible that hybrids are an appealing option for today's customer, which could explain the expanding popularity of the Carnival and Telluride, both of which now offer a gas-electric powertrain option. Other automakers would do well to consider Kia's impressive showroom performance, then emulate it with a variety of price points and propulsion options for their own vehicles.Source: Kia
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