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Kia Australia remains confident that a hybrid powertrain will be added to its Kia K4 small car line-up.
The new Kia K4 – the replacement for the Kia Cerato – has arrived in Australia, initially only as a sedan with a hatchback to follow late in 2025, and a choice of two engines, a naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder and a more powerful 1.6-litre turbocharged-four.
But when asked if a hybrid powertrain was on the horizon for the K4, Kia Australia’s General Manager of Product Planning, Roland Rivero, told Drive he remains “confident” it would be available in the future.
“So K4 this stage, doesn't offer a hybrid at all,” Rivero said. “But numerous markets and regions want one, including Australia.
“So obviously Europe really wants it, and rightfully so. The CO2 regulations there are already strict. And we’re the same.
“With big regions, like Europe demanding it and requesting it, we’re quite confident that it's going to come.”
Rivero added the introduction of Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) which comes into effect this year, has prompted the brand to look at every car in its line-up.
“NVES is coming… and we've got to navigate around that,” said Rivero. “And I think we've always said that even though our EV products are going to do a heavy amount of lifting for NVES – EV3 and EV5 in particular – that every other car line is being looked at.
“There's no sacred cows, from Picanto all the way up to Carnival, we're looking at more ways to reduce our carbon footprint, so that we can ensure that each one retains its position.
“If I use other cars like Carnival and Sorento, where a powertrain is not great under NVES – like a V6 petrol – that will organically start to rationalise and more hybrids will come through.
“It doesn’t have to happen right this very moment, but there will be a ramp-up of hybrids over time.”
The Kia K4 shares much of its underpinnings with the Hyundai i30 sedan including, crucially, engines. However, the i30 range also features a hybrid option, a 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder. It’s the same engine already used in the Kia Niro.
The Kia K4 sedan has arrived in local showrooms in the same S, Sport and Sport+ grades as the outgoing Cerato, while the K4 GT-Line replaces the Cerato GT.
K4 S, Sport and Sport+ variants retain a 112kW/192Nm 2.0-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine with a six-speed automatic transmission and a combined fuel consumption claim of 7.4L/100km.
The 1.6-litre turbo four in the K4 GT-Line outputs 142kW/265Nm with combined fuel consumption rated at 6.7L/100km.
For context, the Hyundai i30 sedan hybrid has a combined fuel consumption claim of 3.9L/100km.
Rob Margeit is an award-winning Australian motoring journalist and editor who has been writing about cars and motorsport for over 25 years. A former editor of Australian Auto Action, Rob’s work has also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Wheels, Motor Magazine, Street Machine and Top Gear Australia. Rob’s current rides include a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2000 Honda HR-V Sport.
