Kia Sorento Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid stock shortages to continue

The boss of Kia Australia says the company could sell five or 10 times more Kia Sorento Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) family SUVs – if only the factory could build enough to meet demand.

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the Kia Sorento seven-seat SUV are among the most supply-constrained cars in Kia Australia's model range, with wait times nearing 12 months. Only 179 have been reported as sold so far this year – an average of 16 per month.

That's down on the targets of five to 10 plug-in hybrids per month – and 20 conventional hybrids per month – announced at the launches of these cars in late 2021 and early 2022 respectively.

By comparison, the top-selling Toyota Kluger Hybrid averaged approximately 700 hybrid sales per month over its first few months in showrooms last year.

Kia Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith told Drive last week he believes the company is only receiving 10 or 20 per cent of the hybrid Sorentos it could sell.

"It's really tight, and again, we're under pressure in regards to that specific model to get them into Australia. But I reckon we're probably only getting, at the moment, 10 or 20 per cent of what we could actually achieve with the hybrids," said Mr Meredith.

Interest in the smaller Kia Niro Hybrid – a rival to the recently-launched Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid – is also high, with similarly tight supply (only 30 to 40 hybrids available per month, based on past comments from Kia Australia).

"The Niros and the Sorentos, they're going better than I thought they would go," said Mr Meredith.

"We haven't held back because of that, we've held back because we just can't get supply of those specific cars. We'd love a lot more, but we've got to be grateful with what we're getting."

The limited supply is one reason why the Sorento hybrid duo is only offered in range-topping GT-Line form, to minimise complexity for Kia's dealer network amid the lack of stock.

"We'd love to do a range of hybrids, but that's just not practical. All we're doing is creating problems for the dealer network by introducing more complexity when they can't get cars. So at this stage, [it will be] top-of-the-range GT-Line only," Kia product planners told Drive at the start of this year, prior to the regular hybrid's launch.

The Kia Sorento range is believed to have broken its all-time sales record last month, with 1063 vehicles reported as sold – up 315 per cent on the same month last year – likely thanks to more stock of the regular petrol V6 and turbo diesel variants.