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Kia EV6 and EV9 Sales Jumped 88% in October—Yet Remain Down 15% Year to Date

Kia's U.S. sales table shows a one-month rebound but a January–October shortfall across the same two models; including the new EV3 changes both comparisons.

By At The Charger

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Kia's EV6 and EV9 sales rebounded sharply in October 2026—but the two models have not yet caught up with their 2025 sales pace. Together, they recorded 2,209 U.S. sales in October, up 88.2% from 1,174 a year earlier. For January through October, however, the same two models totaled 20,902, down 15.4% from 24,699 in the corresponding 2025 period. Those are At The Charger calculations from the model-level figures Kia America published on November 3, rather than an aggregate Kia reported separately.1

The distinction matters because Kia's broader announcement emphasizes a 112% year-over-year increase in electrified-vehicle sales. That category is not the same as battery-electric sales of EV6 and EV9—or even all Kia battery EVs.1

October versus the first ten months

Kia's reported U.S. model counts contain both the single-month and year-to-date periods needed to check the rebound against the longer-running picture.1

Kia model Oct. 2026 Oct. 2025 Jan.–Oct. 2026 Jan.–Oct. 2025
EV9 1,406 666 13,835 13,114
EV6 803 508 7,067 11,585
EV3 976 0 1,496 0

Calculating two different groups from those same Kia rows shows how much the choice of models changes the headline percentage.1

Kia-reported models combined October 2026 vs. 2025 Jan.–Oct. 2026 vs. 2025
EV6 + EV9 (same models in both years) 2,209 vs. 1,174; +88.2% 20,902 vs. 24,699; −15.4%
EV3 + EV6 + EV9 (expanded lineup) 3,185 vs. 1,174; +171.3% 22,398 vs. 24,699; −9.3%

The percentage calculation in each cell is (2026 sales ÷ 2025 sales − 1) × 100. The EV3 was not part of Kia's 2025 comparison sales; adding its 976 October units makes the expanded-lineup monthly increase substantially larger. The EV3 also accounted for 30.6% of the three named models' combined October 2026 sales.1

That expanded grouping is useful for describing the three named models Kia now reports, but it is not a constant-model comparison. For the same EV6 and EV9 nameplates, October grew by 88.2% while the January–October shortfall remained 15.4%. Even when EV3 is added, the three-model year-to-date total is still 9.3% below the corresponding 2025 count.1

What the totals do—and do not—measure

This is not a calculation of all Kia U.S. battery-electric sales. Kia publishes a single Niro model row without breaking its battery-electric sales out from other Niro powertrains. Including the entire Niro row would overstate BEV volume; excluding it means the sums above are explicitly limited to EV3, EV6 and EV9. Nor does Kia's separate 112% electrified-category growth establish a BEV-only growth rate.1

The grouping itself is not new: analyst Mark Kane used the same three named EV model lines, excluding Niro, in an October 14 analysis through September. That earlier January–September comparison was down about 18% year over year; Kia's newly available October data reduce the corresponding three-model January–October deficit to 9.3%.21

There is also a comparison-base limitation. Car and Driver documented the unusually weak U.S. EV market in October 2025 following the expiration of the federal EV purchase tax credit. The large October 2026 year-over-year gains therefore compare against a weak prior month; these figures alone cannot determine why Kia buyers changed their purchasing behavior, or predict whether the rebound will persist.31

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Kia America, “Kia America Achieves Sixth Consecutive Month of Record-Breaking Sales” — issuer release with original October and January–October 2025/2026 U.S. model counts, November 3, 2026, 04:15 ET. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kia-america-achieves-sixth-consecutive-month-of-record-breaking-sales-302927617.html. All combined-cohort totals and percentage changes above are At The Charger calculations based on Kia-reported figures, not independently audited registrations. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  2. Mark Kane, “Kia's US EV Sales Rebound Accelerates As EV3 Enters the Market” — EV Charging Stations, October 14, 2026. https://evchargingstations.com/chargingnews/kias-us-ev-sales-rebound-ev3/. Earlier independent grouping of EV3, EV6 and EV9 with Niro excluded, through September 2026. ↩

  3. Car and Driver, “EV Sales Plummet in October After Federal Tax Credit Ends” — November 2025 contemporary U.S. EV market reporting. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a69239779/ev-sales-plummet-in-october-after-federal-tax-credit-ends/. Historical context only, not proof of a cause for Kia's October 2026 results. ↩