Kia wants you to believe the EV3 will become its best-selling electric car in the United States. Young Kim, Kia’s senior product planning manager in charge of the car, said at the EV3’s press drive that the company expects the little crossover to take the crown. When? He wouldn’t say.
The EV3 has already pulled off the feat in Europe, where it launched a couple of years ago. Kia says it topped the Hyundai Motor Group’s electric sales in the region over the first six months of 2026, moving roughly 27,000 units. However, doing the same stateside is a taller order.
The car launched here in August into a market considerably rougher than the one Kia pictured when it announced U.S. plans back in 2024. The $7,500 tax credit is gone, fuel-economy rules have loosened, and EV demand has cooled. Kia itself has shifted production capacity toward hybrids. EV6 sales have dropped roughly 45% so far this year, to 6,264 units. The three-row EV9 is the bright spot, holding steady at 12,429 sales and currently Kia’s best-selling EV.
The stubby EV3 is essentially a baby EV9, which is part of why Kia figures there’s room to grow. Kia won’t name a U.S. volume target, but it’s almost certainly below the 70,000–80,000 annual figure the company projected in 2024 — a number that remains fantasy territory for any EV not wearing a Tesla badge.
Christine Bagnard, who runs sales and field operations for Kia America, struck an upbeat note anyway. “I think with this particular vehicle, we’re going to do very, very well given its entry price point,” she said. Bagnard pointed to strong early demand in California and some less-obvious markets.
The cautionary tales are fresh. General Motors has said the revamped Chevy Bolt will get only a “limited run” through part of 2027, and Nissan’s Leaf has managed just 2,318 U.S. sales this year — fewer than the same stretch of 2025. Launching a cheap EV guarantees nothing. The EV3 offers up to 321 miles of range with the big battery and shrunken-EV9 styling. Whether that’s enough remains the open question.
[Images: Kia, Tesla, Chevrolet]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.