Kia reports that its global vehicle sales in May decreased by 4.9% year-over-year to 234,554 units. During the first five months of 2022, the company sold 1,159,832 vehicles (down 2.5%).

The slight decrease in sales does not surprise us, considering how challenging the current global economy is, including constraints on parts supply. The positive news is that electric car sales continue to increase.

Last month, Kia EV6 wholesale sales (closely related to production) amounted to 7,358 (once again close to the record of 7,667 in March), including 2,864 in South Korea and 4,494 exported.

Kia reports wholesale sales (on the manufacturer level or plant sales), unaudited and on a preliminary basis.

It means that the Kia EV6 output remains stable at over 7,000 units per month. Usually, 2,000+ are sold in each of three main markets: South Korea, Europe and North America.

Kia EV6 electric car sales (wholesale sales) – May 2022

So far this year, Kia EV6 volume exceeded 35,000, so we can maintain the forecast that at least 80,000-100,000 is possible during 2022 (at the current rate).

Cumulatively, the company produced more than 64,000 EV6. Most of them (over 43,000) were exported.

Retail sales

The manufacturer reports also 4,806 retail sales of the Kia EV6 outside of South Korea in May - including 2,457 in Europe (EU+EFTA) and 2,088 in the US. 138 units were sold in Canada and over 100 in other global markets, according to Kia.

Retail sales of the Soul EV and Niro EV outside of South Korea amounted to respectively 543 and 4,307 (we don't have numbers for Kia's home market).

Overall, retail sales of Kia electric cars more than doubled year-over-year in May:

Kia BEV sales last month:

  • EV6: 4,806 retails sales outside South Korea
    (7,358 wholesale - 2,864 in South Korea and 4,494 exported)
  • Niro EV: 4,307 retails sales outside South Korea
  • Soul EV: 543 retails sales outside South Korea
  • Total*: at least 12,520 (up 125% year-over-year) or 5.3% of the total volume

Unfortunately, Kia does not report PHEV numbers.

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