Sedans Aren't Dead Yet: Kia's Best-Selling Car in January Was the K4
In a strange turn of events, small, cheap sedans are back on top.
In a world where SUVs dominate sales, something strange happened at Kia last month: The company's best-selling vehicle was ... a sedan. The Kia Forte and its replacement, the K4, sold a combined 11,616 units in January, beating out the Sportage for the top spot. Weird.
Kia says this was the K4 and Forte's best January ever, representing a 29-percent increase over last year's sales. Still, it was just barely enough to beat out the Sportage crossover, which moved 11,357 units. The three-row Telluride slotted into third place with 8,771 sales.
The K4 wasn't the only sedan in Kia's lineup to have a glow-up. Sales of its bigger four-door, the K5, were up 32.5 percent, to 4,357 units. The Carnival, Kia's minivan, also saw healthy gains, increasing 21 percent year-over-year to 3,665 units.
While SUVs tend to conquer parking lots in America, we're not exactly surprised to see cars like the K4 selling well in 2025. With a starting price of $23,145, it's one of the cheapest cars on sale today, making it especially appealing for an increasing number of budget-strapped buyers. It's also physically small in a sector of ever-growing SUV behemoths. Not everyone needs a one-bedroom apartment on wheels.
Not every car in Kia's lineup had a good sales month. The Niro and the Seltos, two of the company's small SUVs, were down 41.7 percent and 29 percent, respectively. The three-row EV9 also saw a modest drop of 12.5 percent versus last January.
Overall, Kia sales increased 11.5 percent over last January, to 57,007 units. You can see the full sales chart here:
| Model | January 2025 Sales | January 2024 Sales |
| EV9 | 1,232 | 1,408 |
| EV6 | 1,542 | 1,213 |
| K4/Forte | 11,616 | 8,977 |
| K5 | 4,357 | 3,288 |
| Soul | 3,554 | 3,271 |
| Niro | 1,202 | 2,062 |
| Seltos | 2,840 | 4,000 |
| Sportage | 11,357 | 9,994 |
| Sorento | 6,871 | 6,020 |
| Telluride | 8,771 | 6,916 |
| Carnival | 3,665 | 3,013 |
| Other | 0 | 928 |
| Total | 57,007 | 51,090 |
More on Sedans
Source: CarScoops
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