Which model is Kia’s best-seller in South Africa? The answer used to be the Picanto, but another of the Korean firm’s vehicles has quietly overtaken the little hatchback…

Back in 2022, Kia South Africa’s best-selling model was the Picanto, followed by the Rio hatchback. However, over the opening 8 months of 2023, a different nameplate is leading the passenger-car sales charge for the Korean firm’s local division.

Yes, as many as 3 964 examples of the Sonet have been registered across Mzansi year to date (end of August 2023), putting the Indian-built baby crossover some 857 units ahead of the Picanto. The latter finished the reporting period on 3107 passenger-vehicle units, excluding Runner-badged panel-van sales, which are registered in the light-commercial vehicle segment (along with the K2500 and K2700).

The Sonet arrived in SA back in May 2021.

That means the Sonet is already well ahead of its 2022 tally of 3319 units. The Picanto, meanwhile, looks unlikely to reach the heights of last year, when it attracted 7137 new sales. Of course, a facelifted version of the Picanto was revealed in July 2023, though there’s no indication of timing for a local introduction just yet.

As a reminder, the Sonet line-up comprises 6 derivatives (offered with either a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder motor or a turbocharged 1.0-litre 3-pot), currently priced from R338995 to R431995. Meanwhile, the 12-strong Picanto passenger-car range (plus the 2 Runner variants in the LCV space) runs from R219995 to R283995.

LX derivatives provide the entry point to the Sonet range.

For the record, the Seltos (1519 units) was next on the list of Kia’s strongest sellers year to date, followed by Rio hatchback (1380 units). We expect a facelifted version of the Seltos to arrive in South Africa in the relatively near future, while the Rio nameplate is due to exit Mzansi towards the end of 2023, after some 22 years on the local market.

The Chinese-produced Pegas sedan totalled 687 units year to date, closely followed by the Sportage (676 units). Next came the Carnival (215 units) and Sorento (170 units), while Kia SA also registered 4 units of the Niro, 2 examples of the Carens and a single unit of the EV6 (seemingly all for “consideration” rather than sale purposes).

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