Sedans Aren't Dead Yet: Kia's Best-Selling Car in January Was the K4

In a strange turn of events, small, cheap sedans are back on top.

Photo by: Kia

By: Brian Silvestro

Feb 4, 2025 at 10:00am ET

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In a world where SUVs dominate sales, something strange happened at Kia last month: The company's best-selling vehicle was ... a sedan. The Kia Forte and its replacement, the K4, sold a combined 11,616 units in January, beating out the Sportage for the top spot. Weird.

Kia says this was the K4 and Forte's best January ever, representing a 29-percent increase over last year's sales. Still, it was just barely enough to beat out the Sportage crossover, which moved 11,357 units. The three-row Telluride slotted into third place with 8,771 sales.

The K4 wasn't the only sedan in Kia's lineup to have a glow-up. Sales of its bigger four-door, the K5, were up 32.5 percent, to 4,357 units. The Carnival, Kia's minivan, also saw healthy gains, increasing 21 percent year-over-year to 3,665 units.

Photo by: Mack Hogan / Motor1

While SUVs tend to conquer parking lots in America, we're not exactly surprised to see cars like the K4 selling well in 2025. With a starting price of $23,145, it's one of the cheapest cars on sale today, making it especially appealing for an increasing number of budget-strapped buyers. It's also physically small in a sector of ever-growing SUV behemoths. Not everyone needs a one-bedroom apartment on wheels.

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Not every car in Kia's lineup had a good sales month. The Niro and the Seltos, two of the company's small SUVs, were down 41.7 percent and 29 percent, respectively. The three-row EV9 also saw a modest drop of 12.5 percent versus last January.

Overall, Kia sales increased 11.5 percent over last January, to 57,007 units. You can see the full sales chart here:

Model	January 2025 Sales	January 2024 Sales
EV9	1,232	1,408
EV6	1,542	1,213
K4/Forte	11,616	8,977
K5	4,357	3,288
Soul	3,554	3,271
Niro	1,202	2,062
Seltos	2,840	4,000
Sportage	11,357	9,994
Sorento	6,871	6,020
Telluride	8,771	6,916
Carnival	3,665	3,013
Other	0	928
Total	57,007	51,090