Key highlights
- Kia Soul to be discontinued in October 2025
- It was launched in 2009 in the US
- Axed due to low demand
Kia has announced to discontinue the Soul hatchback internationally. The Soul was first launched 16 years ago in the US. Read more details below.
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Goodbye Kia Soul
Introduced first in 2009 in the US, the Soul hatchback became popular due to its marketing strategy. It was also popularly known as ‘hamster car’, because of an advertisment campaign that included hamsters portraying the utility and pros of the Soul.
However, ever since its launch in 2009, the Soul have had a polarising fanbase. It was either loved by customers for its practical, spacious, and family-oriented cabin design, or it was hated for being awkward in proportions and being underpowered to some.
After 16 years, Kia will roll out the last Soul by the end of October 2025. Although there are still thousands of Soul’s laying around various dealerships internationally. The current third-gen model, which will be the last one, was introduced in 2020 with design and feature changes.
Powering the Kia Soul was a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, petrol engine that offers 147 bhp and 179 Nm of power and torque. It is mated to a CVT auto transmission and comes with a front-wheel drive only.
Ever since the Soul was launched, it could not enjoy good sales numbers. It was almost hovering around 1,500 units monthly in the US. In 2024, Kia reported 53,000 unit sales in the US for Soul, which is way beyond what the C-SUVs like Seltos and Sonet are fetching. Hence, the Soul lost its soul, and it comes to an end.
