Kia's impending SUV boom

Kia’s SUV gold rush is in full swing.

The South Korean brand will reveal two new Australian-bound compact SUVs in the coming weeks.

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Both these models have been confirmed to arrive in Australia during the second half of next year.

Kia has teased both reveals with new images showing off details of the new pairs design.

The Seltos will wear a new face with a redesigned grille and fresh lighting design.

Kia's new Seltos design blends “the rugged heritage of past ICE SUVs with the clean, aerodynamic sophistication of Kia’s latest EVs”.

The new Seltos is expected to debut hybrid power for the first time. They haven’t provided any details, but we can look to its Hyundai Kona sibling for inspiration.

This means it’ll likely use the same 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor combo to make 104kW and 265Nm. Fuel use should be slashed to sub-4.0L/100km.

Kia won’t bring a fully electric version of the Seltos to rival the Hyundai Kona EV, and that’s because that space is covered by the EV3.

And Kia will soon have a new entry point into its all-electric range, with the new EV2 locked in for an Aussie arrival.

The EV2 was originally counted out for Australia as it will be built in Slovakia and it would cost too much to bring it Down Under.

The federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has changed that. The scheme penalises car makers for every gram of CO2 each vehicle they sell emits over a certain threshold, with the limit getting substantially lower every year until 2030. These fines can be offset with EV sales, which tips the balance sheet in the EV2’s favour.

The EV2 is expected to share its underpinnings with the larger EV3. This means 400-volt architecture that caps fast charging at about 135kW and a front-wheel drive layout.