Kia is off to its best sales start since 1962, but with new EVs on the way, the run has just begun
Kia just notched its best first-quarter sales performance since it began selling cars in 1962. With its first electric sedan, the EV4, launching this year, Kia says its sales run is just getting started.
Kia had its best sales start in company history in 2025
After a major brand revamp in 2021, which included a new logo, slogan, and design, Kia is already reaping the benefits.
The South Korean automaker sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first three months of 2025, topping its previous record of just over 765,100 set in the first quarter of 2024.
Kia sold 637,051 vehicles in overseas markets, 134,412 in Korea, and another 888 “special vehicles” in Q1 2025. The milestone comes after back-to-back record global sales years in 2023 and 2024.
Kia’s new look isn’t the only thing drawing buyers to the brand. It also has some of the most efficient, affordable electric cars on the market.
As part of its plans to offer “EVs for all,” Kia is launching a new lineup of mass-market electric vehicles. The EV5, a smaller electric SUV, was the first to launch in China in late 2023, starting at around $20,000 (149,800 yuan).
Kia followed it up with the EV3, another compact electric SUV, last year. Kia’s vice president Won-Jeong Jeong called it a “game-changer” after securing over 10,000 orders in Korea within a month.
Even more growth on the way?
The EV3 debuted in Europe last November, starting at around 36,000 euros ($39,000). According to Kia, the compact electric SUV is already helping draw in new buyers.
A company official said that the EV3, alongside the new Sportage and Sorento, “led to strong sales last year, recording the best first-quarter sales ever.”
With new models, including its first electric sedan, Kia says this could be just the start. The company official added, “We will continue the sales momentum with competitive new models such as the EV4 and Tasman,” Kia’s midsize pickup.
Kia opened EV4 pre-orders in Korea last month for under $30,000 (41.92 million won). Jeong said the electric sedan will “present a new direction in the domestic electric vehicle market, which has been formed around SUVs.”
Later this year, Kia will launch the EV4 globally, including in the US and Europe. A hatchback version (that actually looks pretty sleek) is also set to roll out, aimed at the European market.
Kia also confirmed this week that the EV6 and EV9 are in full-scale production at its West Point, Georgia, Plant.
The company said the move will help “further accelerate the growth of Kia’s electric vehicle sales” in the US, one of its most important markets.
And this is just the start. Kia is launching a new lineup of electric vans as it expands into new segments. Its first, the PV5, is a midsize electric van expected to rival the Volkswagen ID.Buzz.
Source: Hyundai
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British Columbia got its first 400 kW DC fast charger last week at Canadian C-store chain On The Run, but that’s not the good part. As part of a limited time offer, these chargers are FREE!
The Canadian convenience store chain just took the wraps off its new, ABB-developed, 400 kW chargers earlier this month, but they’re already planning to bring the ultra-fast 400 kW dispensers to at least four more locations in BC this spring, and have them online just in time for the summer road trip season – something On The Run hopes its customers will appreciate.
“The A400 charger delivers an enhanced customer experience, with reliability and performance from a 32-inch screen to higher power charging sessions and power sharing,” reads the company’s official announcement, via LinkedIn. “Download the Journie Rewards app to start the charge – free for a limited time.”
On The Run’s new 400 kW ABB DC fast chargers are compatible with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs, and can accommodate Tesla and other NACS-equipped vehicles with an adapter. That said, the company seems to imply that Tesla drivers in particular will have a maximum charging speed of “just” 50 kW, which feel hilarious (given the current state of affairs between Tesla and the Canadian government), but probably isn’t.
In addition to the ABB A400 400 kW units shown here, On The Run locations also employ the ABB Terra 184 dispensers rated at 180 kW. On The Run plans similar deployments at the four BC locations mentioned above, as well as two more each in Quebec and Ontario slated to go live towards the end of this year.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla’s controversial CEO Elon Musk once mocked 350 kW charging speed as being “for a child’s toy,” despite the fact that, nearly nine years later, his own cars and Superchargers can barely make it to 325 kW while others have sailed right on past. I made fun of that fact on the Quick Charge episode shown, above – and, while I do think it’s funny and relevant, the much more relevant piece of news here is that companies like BP Pulse, Revel, and Wallbox are actively deploying 400 kW solutions, today (while others hit the same mark as far back as 2017).
It’s just a fact: Tesla has fallen way behind.
SOURCE | IMAGES: On The Run, via Electric Autonomy.
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Terawatt Infrastructure‘s first medium- and heavy-duty electric charging truck stop in California is now online, in Rancho Dominguez.
Located 12 miles north of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the private Rancho Dominguez site, which is shared among multiple fleets, will support electric trucking fleet operations in and out of the largest container ports in the US.
First customers include Dreaded Trucking, Hight Logistics, PepsiCo, Quick Container Drayage, Southern Counties Express, Tradelink Transport, and WestCoast Trucking & Warehousing.
Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system. Terawatt’s site features a proprietary charge management system, in-house technicians, 24/7 customer service, and onsite parts management.
“This launch underscores growing collaboration between enterprises, shippers, carriers, and charging infrastructure providers to advance sustainable technologies across logistics and transportation operations, especially in the medium and heavy-duty sectors,” said Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt. Palmer added that the company will bring another charging site online in Rialto, California, in June.
Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers in September 2024 to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.” Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.
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In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.
Norwegian developer Equinor announced yesterday that it received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering Empire Wind 1 to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted this tweet yesterday:
Burgum gave no indication of what insufficiencies there were in the approval process for the fully permitted offshore wind project, despite Trump’s recent declaration of a national energy emergency that speeds up permitting processes.
The commercial lease for the 810-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1’s federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. It was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction in 2024.
The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Empire Wind 1, which was due to come online in 2027, has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”
As Electrek reported, Equinor secured $3 billion to finance Empire Wind 1 in January. The total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility as of March 31 was around $1.5 billion.
As of March 31, Empire Wind has a gross book value of around $2.5 billion, including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (pictured above), which was expected to become the US’s largest dedicated port facility for offshore wind.
In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement:
Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them. Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.
As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.
Equinor says it’s considering appealing BOEM’s order.
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