Kia reports highest October sales in company history, announces charging initiative

Kia America announced it has achieved an all-time high October sales record with 59,164 units sold, despite a decrease in business days compared to the previous year. Kia's EV models saw a year-over-year increase of 83-percent, with the EV6, in particular, setting an all-time October sales record, surging by 30-percent compared to the same month the previous year.

In October, six models, including Carnival (+172%); Rio (+44%); EV6 (+30%); K5 (+7%); Forte (+5%) and Telluride (+4%), recorded increased sales compared to the same month the previous year. Carnival and EV6, in particular, achieved their highest October sales records and Kia's SUV lineup accounted for 71% of October sales, leading the way in overall sales, the press release notes .

Additionally, Kia America announced that its electric vehicle customers will have access to 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Starting from Q4 2024, Kia plans to build the North American Charging Standard (NACS) port into new electric vehicles sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to enable EV owners to use a significantly greater number of high-speed chargers than currently available to them. Further, the company expects to make available *CCS1-to-NACS (Combined Charging System) 2 adapters to enable nearly all Kia EVs1 to charge on Tesla's network. Adapters are expected to be made available through Kia dealers starting in Q1 2025

The forthcoming Kia EV9 three-row SUV was rated an EPA-estimated 304 miles in the Light Long Range RWD trim, besting an internal AER target of 300 miles. All five EV9 variants were rated higher than initial target estimates.