This Kia electric SUV is beating every BYD EV in Australia and it’s about to launch globally

Kia’s new electric SUV is quickly climbing the sales charts overseas. The Kia EV5 is now a top-selling EV in Australia, slipping past all BYD models.

Kia’s EV5 electric SUV is outselling BYD in Australia

The EV5 made its global debut back in August 2023 at the Chengdu Motor Show. A few months later, Kia officially launched the midsize electric SUV in China, starting at just 149,800 yuan, or about $20,000.

At 4,615 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,715 mm tall, the EV5 is slightly smaller than the Tesla Model Y (4,750 mm long, 1,921 mm wide, and 1,624 mm tall).

Last year, the EV5 began arriving in overseas markets, including Australia and New Zealand. The electric SUV arrived at dealerships in Australia in November 2024, starting at $56,770 (AUD).

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According to the latest sales data, the EV5 is already a top-selling EV in “The Land Down Under.” Sales numbers compiled by the folks at The Driven show that the Kia EV5 electric SUV is outselling every BYD vehicle in Australia in 2025.

Kia has slowly ramped up sales this year, with 289 in January, 300 in February, and 478 in March, for a total of 1,167 units.

BYD’s top-seller through the first three months of the year is the new Sealion 7 (730), followed by the Atto 3 (601).

Since BYD’s electric SUV just arrived in Australia in February, it will be interesting to see how sales play out over the next few months. In March, the Sealion 07 outsold the EV5 (573 vs 478).

BYD also launched a new Dolphin “Essentials” model earlier this year as the first EV to start at under $30,000 in Australia. Australia is a key market for BYD as it aggressively expands overseas.

Kia’s electric SUV is rolling out to new global markets, including Canada, South Korea, and Mexico. Although it (sadly) won’t arrive in the US, the EV5 will come with a native NACS charging port for Tesla Superchargers in Canada.

Earlier this year, Kia confirmed that the electric SUV will be “exclusively for the Canadian market” in North America. It will be sold with FWD and AWD powertrains and two battery sizes: 60.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh, offering up to 500 km (310 miles) range.

Electrek’s Take

Although BYD will likely take the lead back this year with the new Sealion 7 and Dolphin rolling out, Kia’s electric SUV is still putting up impressive numbers.

In its first year on the market, the EV5 made an impressive debut, leading to a full-on recovery for brand sales in China. For the first time in four years, Kia sold over 200,000 vehicles in China and ranked first among joint venture brands in sales growth (+49.2%).

Despite the ongoing EV price war and an influx of low-cost domestic models, an industry official said Kia’s business in China “seems to have entered a normal phase.” The joint venture even turned its first profit in seven years in Q3 2024.

Will it do the same in other overseas markets? In the meantime, Kia’s joint venture in China, Weda Kia, plans to ramp up exports. It currently ships vehicles to 76 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Southeast Asia, and is aiming to hit annual exports of 180,000.