Pour One Out for the Kia Soul UPDATED
The Kia Soul has been around longer than you probably think. It debuted back in 2009 and has become a popular model for the brand in the time since, though it outgrew the funky hamster commercials it became known for early on. Kia recently announced the end of the Soul’s run, saying 2025 would be the crossover’s last.
A decade ago, Kia was moving around 150,000 units per year, the peak of Soul sales, but those numbers had fallen to just over 50,000 last year. The Korean-made Soul already wasn’t as profitable as Kia’s SUVs, and tariff changes made it even more unlikely to stay afloat, due to being imported.
Despite its falling sales, the Soul was popular for its roomy interior, and the upright body shape makes it easier to enter and exit the vehicle. It was never exciting or upscale, but it offered a lot of utility and plenty of features for the price.
Kia offers affordable vehicles in other segments, such as the K4, but the Soul was its least expensive model, with a starting price of around $21,400. The loss of the Soul might not be that upsetting for a ton of people, but losing another affordable car option is almost always a bad thing for buyers.
Ed. note -- we've reached out to Kia and will update if/when we hear back.
Update: Yes, a Kia spokesperson has confirmed the car's discontinuation, and there is a press release on the Kia Web site for media.
[Images: Kia]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Apparently, higher interest rates and lower credit scores have kept enough bad decision-makers from acting on their impulses. The Soul was an expensive clown suit.
“[W]asn’t as profitable as Kia’s SUVs”! This is the real truth! It’s all about profit! Welcome to the American business model Kia!