Hyundai and Kia’s low-cost EVs are supercharging sales — And this is just the start

Hyundai and Kia are on a hot streak. The Korean auto giants just notched another month of strong sales growth in February, thanks to new low-cost EVs like Kia’s EV3 and the Hyundai Casper (Inster EV). With even more models on the way this year, Hyundai and Kia setting the stage for an even bigger 2025.

Hyundai and Kia sales rise in February with low-cost EVs

Coming off its second straight year of setting a new global sales record, 2025 is shaping up to be Kia’s biggest year in company history.

Kia is revamping the brand with a new lineup of stylish electric vehicles as part of its “EVs” for all strategy. After launching its first three-row electric SUV, the EV9, in 2023, the company is doubling down on more affordable models.

As part of its “EVs for all” strategy, Kia is launching a series of electric cars with prices ranging from around $30,000 to upwards of $80,000.

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After launching the EV5 in China in late November 2023, starting at just over $20,000 (149,800 yuan), Kia introduced the smaller EV3 SUV last year.

Kia opened EV3 orders in Korea last June starting at roughly $30,000 (KRW 42.08 million). After securing over 10,000 reservations within a month, Kia’s vice president Won-Jeong Jeong, was already calling the compact SUV a “game-changer” in its home market.

Even more coming soon

Kia sold 2,257 EV3’s in Korea last month, surging 426% from the 429 sold in January. The EV3 has helped Kia’s domestic sales recover, rising 4.5% in February 2025.

With the EV3 now arriving in Europe, starting at around $38,000 (36,000 euros), Kia expects overseas sales, which were up 4.4%, to gain momentum this year.

Kia’s President, Song Ho-sung, told shareholders on Wednesday the company’s annual sales exceeded 100 trillion won ($68.6 billion) for the first time in 2024. It also notched its highest operating profit in company history at 12.7 trillion won ($8.7 billion).

This year, Kia expects even more growth with new electric models, including the EV4, its first electric sedan, and the PV5, its first electric van. Both were introduced at Kia’s 2025 EV Day last week. We also got our first look at the smaller, even lower-cost EV2 model.

Hyundai’s low-cost Casper Electric, which went on full-scale sale in the second half of 2024, helped boost domestic sales.

Casper Electric sales increased in Hyundai’s home market from just 186 units in January to 1,061 in February. Hyundai’s domestic sales rose 20% in February 2025 compared to the prior year. The Casper EV starts at about $20,000 (27.4 million won) in Korea.

In outside markets, like Europe, the Casper is called the Inster EV, and it’s expected to help Hyundai significantly ramp up overseas EV sales. In Europe, Hyundai’s compact electric SUV starts at around $27,000 (25,000 euros).

Hyundai and Kia are on a hot streak in the US. Both are coming off new February sales records with new models like the 2025 IONIQ 5 and Kia’s EV9 seeing strong demand. With more EVs on the way, including Hyundai’s three-row IONIQ 9 and the Kia EV4, the Korean automakers will be two brands to keep an eye on as the global auto industry continues shifting to electric.