Kia Becomes Europe's Fastest-Growing Top 10 Brand as EV Sales Jump 58%

Kia’s electrification push in Europe is clearly bearing fruit. New figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association show the Korean brand logged 377,078 passenger car registrations between January and August 2026, a 9% gain over the same stretch last year and enough to rank it as the fastest-growing top 10 brand on the continent.

That performance stands out even more against a broader market that expanded just 5.8% over the same eight months. Kia’s slice of the European passenger car market now sits at 4.1%, good for ninth place overall. On the electric side, registrations climbed 58% year-on-year, lifting Kia to a 4.8% share of Europe’s EV market and seventh position among electric brands.

Demand was especially strong in several key countries. France posted a 120% increase, Germany 112%, the UK 66%, Spain 60% and Italy 41%. The EV3 remains one of the brand’s most popular electric offerings, while the newer EV2, EV4 and EV5 have added fresh momentum. Kia’s electric range now stretches from the entry-level EV2 through the EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6 and EV9, plus the PV5 van.

The EV2, which launched earlier this year, starts at €26,600 in Germany and £22,245 in the UK, and is the second fully electric Kia to be assembled at the company’s Slovakian plant alongside the EV4. While the EV2 is not headed to American showrooms, the EV3 is now on sale in the US, where Kia moved just over 500 units in its first full month.