Kia will add more hybrid cars to its ranks over the coming years in response to faltering global uptake of electric cars. In a bid "to manage fluctuation in EV demand" and to cater for a forecasted increase in sales of electrified combustion cars, Kia will launch nine new hybrids by 2028 "across most major model lines globally". It didn't say which model lines specifically will be hybridised, nor did it say whether the total includes both full hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
Hybrids currently account for just 1% of Kia's sales in China, and it will stop selling them there completely by 2030, leaving it with a 53:47 sales split between EVs and pure-ICE cars. Kia has also pledged to develop a new generation of hybrid powertrain with "enhanced power and fuel efficiency" in a bid to "diversify" its product offering. There will be two versions of this new powertrain: one for "subcompact and mid-sized" cars and another for large vehicles.