Kia Achieves Global Success with Hybrid Vehicles, Kia Sorento Plays a Key Role

Over the years, car manufacturers have continuously researched, developed and promoted green cars, environmentally friendly car models and the most popular with customers are Hybrid cars.

Hybrid vehicles (including Plug-in Hybrids) are well received by users thanks to their significant fuel savings compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, while not requiring changes in driving habits and not requiring high infrastructure requirements like pure electric vehicles. The selling price and equipment suitable to customer needs are also plus points of this green vehicle line.

Kia reaps success with Hybrid cars

True to the spirit of the slogan "Movement that Inspires", Kia is considered one of the leading manufacturers in promoting the development of Hybrid vehicles. In particular, the flagship SUV Kia Sorento with Hybrid version has continuously achieved success in the world and especially in the domestic market.

The Hybrid version contributes significantly to the success of the Kia Sorento (Photo: Thaco Auto).

Pulse News compiled data from January to November 2023, KIA Sorento is the second best-selling hybrid vehicle in this market. Of the total 77,743 Sorento units sold during the above period, 51,818 were hybrid versions, accounting for more than 66% of total sales.

The growth of Kia Hybrid vehicles is evident when in 2021, sales of this environmentally friendly vehicle line only reached 72,136 vehicles. The figure for 2023 increased to more than 145,000 vehicles, according to the Korea Herald . Thus, Sorento Hybrid accounts for more than 30% of all Kia Hybrid vehicles sold in 2023.

Kia Sorento (all versions) also achieved impressive results as the 3rd best-selling car model in Korea in 2023 with sales increasing 24.5% compared to 2022. Rival Hyundai Santa Fe ranked 8th.

Kia Sorento (all versions) also achieved impressive results as the 3rd best-selling car model in Korea in 2023 (Photo: Thaco Auto).

The upgraded version and the hybrid engine option are said to be the driving force for Kia Sorento's sales growth. In January 2024, Kia Sorento rose to become the best-selling car model in Korea, including the end of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, this model has ranked at the top 3 times.

Hybrid Cars - a "green" stepping stone for Vietnamese customers

The strategy of bringing Kia Hybrid cars to Vietnam has been researched and planned by THACO AUTO for a long time. In 2022, the duo Sorento HEV (Hybrid) and Sorento PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid) were launched to domestic customers.

The Sorento HEV uses a hybrid engine and does not require external charging. The car is equipped with a Smartstream 1.6 turbocharged gasoline engine (178 horsepower, 265 Nm maximum torque), combined with a 44.2kW ​​electric motor (60 horsepower, 264 Nm torque). The accompanying lithium-ion battery pack has a capacity of 1.49kWh.

With the Sorento PHEV, users can charge the car at their convenience, without depending entirely on the charging station (Photo: Kia).

Meanwhile, the Sorento PHEV has a more powerful motor and a larger battery. The car can run purely on electricity (up to 71km) and completely disconnect the internal combustion engine, and can be plugged in to charge like an electric car. The motor on this version has a capacity of 66.9 kW (equivalent to 90 horsepower, 304 Nm torque), a 13.8kWh battery, and a liquid cooling system.

This version is equipped with external charging with domestic power, via AC charger and OBC charging control (AC to DC conversion). Users can choose pure EV mode, energy recovery and HEV self-charging or Auto (automatic switching between EV and HEV while operating).

In addition to the engine difference compared to the pure internal combustion engine Sorento, the Hybrid version is also fully equipped with ADAS active safety features such as panoramic monitoring, blind spot display on the screen, lane keeping assist, forward collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control and a new feature that warns of rear blind spot collision avoidance.

In addition to the Hybrid engine option, the powerful appearance and high-class interior also help the Kia Sorento score points in the eyes of customers (Photo: Thaco Auto).

With the current car usage habits and especially infrastructure, Hybrid cars are considered a reasonable choice for Vietnamese people in the process of "greening" personal vehicles.

Specifically, the Kia Sorento Hybrid has a fuel consumption of less than 2 liters per 100km on the PHEV version and about 5.9 liters per 100km on the HEV version. This figure contributes significantly to reducing emissions into the environment. Meanwhile, users can use the car without worrying about charging with the HEV version and only need to charge when convenient with the PHEV version.

Thus, Hybrid vehicles can be considered a stepping stone on the journey to electric vehicles in the future. Sorento offers the first Hybrid vehicle option in the D-size SUV line, opening up a greening trend for Kia's entire product range in Vietnam. In order to commit to quality, instead of the usual 2 years, Kia Vietnam will apply a warranty policy of up to 7 years or 150,000km for Sorento Hybrid vehicles, effective from December 15, 2023.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/o-to-xe-may/kia-gat-hai-thanh-cong-tren-toan-cau-voi-xe-hybrid-kia-sorento-dong-vai-tro-chu-luc-20240327190612527.htm