The US new car market is heading into 2026 with zero enthusiasm. Analysts project roughly 3.7 million vehicles sold in Q1, a drop of more than six percentage points compared to the same period in 2025. Add surging gas prices driven by Gulf War tensions hitting levels not seen in years, and you’ve got a recipe for a quarterly report that nobody wants to sign off on. General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai are all expected to take a hit. And then there’s Kia.
While the rest of the industry was quietly stress-testing its contingency plans, Kia America sold 207,015 vehicles in Q1 2026, making it the brand’s best first quarter on record, a 4% increase year-over-year.
The electrified segments, hybrids and electrified models, posted new quarterly records as well, up 73% and 30% respectively versus Q1 2025. As for pure EVs, Kia has joined the industry-wide tradition of not leading with those numbers. The EV9 and EV6 both saw sales decline after the federal incentive program was axed.
The real story is the Sportage, which topped the sales chart with 44,704 units, followed by the K4 sedan at 37,220. But the headline act of the quarter was the all-new 2027 Kia Telluride which hit its best-ever quarterly sales figure, up 20% year-over-year, even while national availability is still ramping up. It landed third with 35,928 units and is clearly not done climbing.
The one sour note in an otherwise triumphant quarter was the Soul, a model that went from over 11,000 units to just above 3,000 in a single year. The compact crossover, once a quirky fan favorite, is now quietly fading into the background.
“Kia continues to see strong customer demand and consistent growth”, said Eric Watson, Vice President of Sales Operations at Kia America, in a statement that reads like it was written by someone who actually had a good quarter for once.
