Hyundai and Kia See Hybrid Sales Boom

Hybrids are in, EVs are out.

Hyundai and Kia are killing it with hybrid sales in May. Hyundai sold 87,468 vehicles, with hybrid sales up 90% compared to the same month in 2025. Kia sold 80,502 units and posted its best retail sales month ever. Kia’s hybrid volume was up 179%. The Sportage Hybrid was up 171%. The Sorento Hybrid was up 101%.

This explosion of hybrid sales can be attributed to the federal EV tax credit expiring in September 2025, when many buyers realized the current the EV experience doesn’t work for their lives without huge incentives. U.S. EV market share dropped from 7.9% in 2024 to 5.6% in Q1 2026. Hybrid share went from 10.1% to 13.7% over the same stretch.

Unlike EVs, hybrids work for almost everyone. You don’t need a home charger or to plan a road trip around charging stops, and for most part, the internal combustion engine driving experience remains intact. For many buyers, especially value conscious buyers (hello skyrocketing gas prices), hybrids are the right answer.

Hyundai and Kia built cars with this in mind, and now their sales figures are proving it. They are not the first automaker to do so, as Toyota and Honda have been ramping up hybrid production as well. Meanwhile, American car manufacturers like GM, Ford, and Stellantis, have fallen far behind in the hybrid game, a fact that is sure to haunt them over the next few months as gas prices remain elevated.