Kia finds success in segments China ignores

BUCKING the trend of market share dilution caused by the entry of affordable Chinese brands to Australia, Kia has continued to grow overall sales in 2025 in part due to success in segments not entered by new brands.

Kia strongly contests highly competitive segments – its Sportage midsize SUV continues to outsell all Chinese medium crossovers – but about 20 per cent of the South Korean manufacturer’s sales volume in Australia comes from classes where it has not been undercut by China.

While new brands have tended to direct substantial numbers of models at Australia’s hyper-popular small and medium SUV categories, the evergreen Kia Carnival MPV continues to be allowed to dominate the sub-$70,000 people mover class in Australia with overwhelming 82 per cent market share.

On track to find 11,000 buyers in 2025, sales of the Carnival, which gained a fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain option in August last year, are up nearly six per cent for 2025 while the segment’s only Chinese challenger, the LDV Mifa, has accrued just 166 sales this year and no longer appears on LDV price lists.

“At the moment, we are enjoying success in Carnival,” Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero told GoAuto.

“It is hard to crystal-ball precisely what the Chinese brands are going to do moving forward, if they see that as a major opportunity to target, but right not we are not finding their pricing to be aggressive in (the MPV) space as compared to SUV categories, where they are being very aggressive.”

If China decides to challenge the Carnival in Australia, which is currently priced between $52,070 and $76,630 plus on-road costs, Kia says it is prepared to do battle to defend the model’s success.

“(Chinese brands) seem to be allowing Carnival its respective space and if that continues, good for us,” said Mr Rivero.

“But if they try to be a bit more aggressive in that space, then we will respond accordingly.”

Manufacturers from China have shown interest in the people mover segment, but only north of Kia Carnival pricing.

The battery electric (BEV) Zeekr 009 (from $116K) and PHEV GAC M8 (from $77K) are already in market while GWM premium brand Wey is set to launch with a PHEV van next year below $100,000.

A further substantial beneficiary of China’s apparent targeted segment strategy is the Kia Stonic, which just received a substantial facelift and circa-10 per cent price increase for Australia.

The Stonic faces no Chinese rivals in the light SUV category.

It is on track to record around 6500 sales for 2025. While the Stonic’s success trails that of the Mazda CX-3, Toyota Yaris Cross, and Hyundai Venue, it is nonetheless important to Kia, contributing nearly eight per cent of Kia’s annual deliveries.

That is despite the fact that, priced between $28,180-$35,740 + ORCs, the Stonic not only overlaps with the price of the 220mm-longer Kia Seltos, but that the Stonic is considerably more expensive than numerous larger Chinese-made small SUVs like the MG ZS (from $26,990 driveaway).

While the light SUV segment as a whole is going backwards, with sales down 4.2 per cent year-to-date compared to 2024, the Stonic is fairing 10.6 per cent better than it was this time last year and is in fact nearly as popular as the Seltos in Australia.

According to Kia Australia chief operating officer Dennis Piccoli, light SUV sales generally speaking are falling because of intense competition in the larger small SUV class, but Kia feels there will be continuing demand for truly compact crossovers in future.

“There is an element of the customer trading up (to SUV Small) arguably at an extremely competitive price for the next size up, but there is a metro market that most definitely (creates) scope for SUV Light, which we are seeing,” said Mr Piccoli.

“If you look at where the Chinese are going, they appear to be going into (the) SUV Small (segment), that is their play.”

While it is not an SUV, the light SUV class will be challenged indirectly by leading Chinese brand BYD next year with the arrival of the Atto 1 battery electric vehicle.

The Atto 1 is a 3990mm-long hatchback priced from $23,990 + ORCs, undercutting the petrol-fuelled Stonic by around $4000.