New Kia Soul EV Ditched In America In Favor Of Electric Niro

It is still on sale in Europe, where it can only be had as the e-Soul, as well as other markets.

Kia Soul EV (e-Soul)

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Jul 15, 2021 at 8:30am ET

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Kia Soul EV found some sales success in the United States, but it was always more popular in Europe, which is why it has been dropped in favor of the more conventional Niro. Yes, that’s right, the Soul EV is officially dead in America, even though it actually debuted at the 2018 Los Angeles Motor Show, but now it will continue to be sold in other markets alongside the Niro.

In fact, in Europe, Kia opted to only sell the Soul in EV guise - the model is known as the e-Soul - and it’s been on sale now for over a year.

We’ve known that Kia wasn’t planning to bring the electric Soul to America for over a year (although not officially) and now this has been confirmed again by Autoblog. They recently spoke to a Kia representative who reaffirmed previous rumors that the Soul EV was off-limits to American buyers.

Gallery: Kia Soul EV

Kia e-Soul 2019 (Europe)

Kia e-Soul 2019 (Europe) Kia Soul EV

Immediately after its reveal, Kia announced that it was postponing its US launch by at least a year and that it would eventually go on sale in 2021. However, it seems that is no longer the case, even though the new electric Soul was much improved over its predecessor, especially when it comes to range, which grew from 111 miles to 243 miles.

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Apparently, it is the Soul’s quirky, boxy look that ultimately made it not as good a match for the American market, because buyers just prefer more conventional looking vehicles. That’s why Kia deemed the Niro EV sufficient to cover that size segment, especially since it is a traditional looking crossover and that body style is very popular, while the Soul may be more polarizing.