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• The Kia Picanto has surpassed 250,000 sales in the UK•Kia Niro passes 100,000 lifetime UK sales
•Both models consistent best-sellers for Kia UKThe Kia Picanto, which celebrated its 19th birthday in May 2023, has surpassed a significant milestone, reaching a quarter of a million cumulative sales in the UK.
The Picanto, Kia’s current A-segment contender, has been a consistent class favourite in the UK and is the lowest priced brand-new car on sale, starting at £13,665. For this value, customers can purchase a brand-new Picanto ‘1’ – smartly styled, competitively equipped and protected by Kia’s famous seven-year/100,000-mile warranty.The Picanto is not alone in its celebrations, as this month the Kia Niro passed 100,000 cumulative UK sales.
The first generation: laying the foundationsThe first generation of the Kia Picanto went on sale in the UK on 25 May 2004, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the South Korean manufacturer. From launch, the Picanto turned heads offering a competitively priced package in the form of a vibrant and youthful city car.Right from the outset the Picanto offered best-in-class space, a generous specification list packed with high-quality materials and advanced technologies for the time. Adding to the package, a five-door configuration was standard with a well put-together and refined driving experience, reminiscent of a much larger car.
Aimed at ‘the Sex in the City and Friends generation’, the Picanto was positioned as the ideal car for singles and couples in their late twenties and those after the perfect small car for urban driving.
In 2007, the Picanto underwent a minor facelift that saw the A-segment model receive new front and rear light clusters, a new bumper and a new front grille. On the inside, the Picanto remained largely unchanged, although the indicator stalk switched from the right to the left of the steering column.The first-generation Picanto was retired from duty in 2011, and achieved a total of 83,935 UK sales in its lifetime. During this time, it was a notable favourite among customers trading in older cars as part of the UK’s 2009 scrappage scheme, proving instrumental in introducing thousands of motorists to the ascendant Kia brand for the very first time.
The second generation: building on a strong foundationThe second-generation Picanto made its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, and went on sale in the UK on 17 June 2011. The Picanto took a significant step forward in design, abandoning ‘cute’ design cues used on its predecessor and instead featuring Kia’s newly introduced ‘tiger nose’ grille.The new Picanto also received Kia’s new generation of Kappa engines; designed from the ground-up to reduce CO2 emissions and improve overall efficiency. Improved interior specification and safety features, as well as the availability of a new three-door Picanto, all added to the model’s existing appeal.
The second-generation Picanto also started to sweep in the motoring awards, impressing several UK publications with its low starting-price, efficient powertrains, and refined driving experience.In April 2015, the second-generation model received a minor facelift, which raised levels of standard equipment and introduced an 11-model range, with a trim level to suit all customer needs. In its lifetime, the second generation Picanto sold 82,407 units in the UK – building on the success of its predecessor.
The third generation: taking the leadBy the time the third-generation Picanto made its way to the UK, Kia had already established itself as a major player in the UK automotive landscape. Arriving on-sale in the UK on 1 May 2017, the Picanto once again took a major leap forward in design, with significant enhancements to both the exterior and interior.The most technologically advanced, most stylish, most refined and sportiest small car that Kia had ever produced, the third-generation Kia Picanto introduced the ‘GT-Line’ grade for the first time. This was equipped with a sporty exhaust, bold front- and rear-bumpers, an aggressive front grille and ‘GT’ inspired red body details. Coupled with these was an all-new 1.0-litre turbocharged engine producing 99bhp and, paired with a six-speed slick-shifting manual transmission, it became an instant favourite with UK drivers.The Picanto replaced the mature and handsome look of its predecessor with a slightly more aggressive and modern appearance. With the third-generation Picanto, Kia began to stretch its legs in the A-segment as the model grew more and more popular. A minor refresh in 2020 added to its appeal.Since the start of 2023, the Picanto has consistently been one of the top performing models in the A-segment, popular with retail and fleet customers alike. Year-to-date, it is the second-best selling model in its segment overall – and the best-selling in the retail market.Dominance in its class combined with glowing reviews and a series of high-profile UK awards have helped the third-generation Picanto to a lifetime count of 84,762 sales. In total, the Picanto has passed the hugely significant quarter of a million mark, now sitting on 251,104 lifetime sales in the UK – a big achievement for such a small car.The 250,000th example of the car sold in the UK was a Picanto ‘2’ in Silver Frost, with a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine and five-speed automated-manual transmission.100,000 sales for Kia NiroKia also recorded a further sales milestone this month. The ever-popular Kia Niro has surpassed 100,000 cumulative UK sales in rapid fashion, having only been on-sale in the UK since 19 July 2016.The first-generation Kia Niro originally went on sale solely available as a petrol-powered hybrid, offering high fuel economy and low CO2 emissions and was Kia’s first dedicated hybrid designed from the ground-up. In September 2017, Kia introduced the Niro Plug-in Hybrid to the range – the first PHEV compact crossover to go on sale in the UK. It offered a potential fuel economy of well over 200mpg and an EV range of up to 36 miles (NEDC combined figures), and became a fleet favourite throughout its time on sale.The all-electric e-Niro was the third member to join the Niro family, making its European debut at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. On sale in the UK from 1 April 2019, the e-Niro went on to make a name for itself in the UK market and was the first ever electric car to be named What Car?’s ‘Car of the Year’ in 2019.In July 2022, the second-generation Niro went on sale in the UK, once again available as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full EV. Met with great acclaim, the second-generation Niro contributed to incredibly strong 2022 sales figures that saw electrified models (EV, PHEV and HEV) account for almost 50 per cent of Kia UK’s total annual sales.Over-and-out for the Kia RioFirst launched in the UK in 2001, the Kia Rio has been officially withdrawn from sale in the UK market following its final month of production in May 2023. Over 22 years, the Rio has been a hugely successful model line for the Korean brand in the UK, with four generations of the car on-sale throughout its lifetime. During this time, it has accounted for more than 150,000 cumulative UK sales. It was joined in 2017 by its sister model, the Kia Stonic, which remains on-sale in the UK as a popular B-segment crossover.Kia remains committed to the A-segment, with the Picanto being the latest recipient of a major facelift – unveiled on 4 July 2023, and that will go on-sale in the UK in early 2024. The newly updated Picanto will feature a striking re-design, giving the third-generation Picanto an entirely new EV9-inspired face, as well as a re-structured specification line-up.Further information on UK specification and pricing for the updated Picanto will be revealed in due course.