Despite the wider car industry phasing out diesel engines, Kia Australia has announced its commitment to retaining the diesel option in its Sorento family SUV. According to recent data, a significant number of Australian buyers have shown interest in diesel powertrains in several of Kia’s SUVs, with the majority of Sorento buyers opting for the diesel option.
Kia Australia’s general manager of product planning, Roland Rivero, has stated that there will be “many, many years of Sorento” with the 2.2-litre diesel engine to come. When asked about the possibility of a diesel Sorento in showrooms around 2025, Rivero said “absolutely, I don’t think there is any question about that”.
This approach differs from Kia’s sister brand Hyundai, which is gradually replacing its combustion engines with hybrid powertrains over the decade. Damien Meredith, Kia Australia’s Chief Operating Officer, says that the strategies of the two brands under the wider Hyundai Motor Group (HMC) are “quite different”.
Kia’s focus globally is on its Plan S strategy, which aims to bring 11 electric vehicles to market by 2025, with the recent additions of the EV6 midsize SUV and Niro small SUV to the Australian line-up.
Diesel engines are becoming less popular in major markets such as Europe due to high emissions levels, with most manufacturers pushing towards fully-electric or hybrid options to meet regulations. However, Australia currently lacks such emissions regulations, with diesel engines remaining a popular choice among large family 4WDs, dual-cab utes, and heavy commercial vehicles.
In January 2021, HMC reportedly halted the development of future diesel engines to divert resources towards electric vehicles, but current units are understood to be refined over time. At the time, Guido Schenken, Hyundai Australia’s public relations senior manager, declined to comment on the reports but confirmed that diesel engines were being phased out gradually over an extended period of time, with minimal impact due to alternative powertrain options being developed by their R&D center.
