2026 Kia Seltos getting EV5 looks, hybrid power

The design language of Kia’s new electric vehicles (EVs) is continuing to trickle down to petrol-powered models, and the Seltos will be the next vehicle from the Korean brand to get a more EV-like look.

We’ve seen this recently on the new K4 (Cerato replacement) and Sportage, and now the next-generation Seltos is set to get a design inspired by the similarly sized EV5.

Videos uploaded to social media and YouTube by South Korean spy photographer Shorts Car show the upcoming Kia Seltos covered in camouflage, though the black coverings can’t hide its distinctive new shape.

That includes a boxier and more squared-off front and rear design, again with inspiration seemingly taken from the recently launched EV5.

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Elements from the current Seltos such as its integrated roof rails continue to feature, though wider wheel-arch mouldings suggest Kia will be going for a tougher look with the new SUV.

Reportedly due to enter production in 2025, it’ll replace the now six-year-old Seltos, which debuted in 2019 and is one of Kia’s most popular models in Australia.

As previously reported by South Korean publication ET News, the next-generation Seltos will offer a choice of petrol or hybrid powertrains.

The new Seltos Hybrid is expected to feature the same powertrain as the Hyundai Kona Hybrid, but offer the option of an electronic all-wheel drive (E-AWD) system.

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The front-wheel drive-only Kona Hybrid combines a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine with a 32kW/172Nm electric motor, a 1.32kWh battery pack, and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Total system outputs are 104kW and 265Nm.

Kia already has a similarly sized hybrid SUV in the Niro, which also offers the option of an electric powertrain.

That sees the Niro overlap with the electric EV3, due here in 2025, but Kia has said it sees room for both the electric Niro and EV3.

Much as the EV3 appears to cannibalise the Niro EV, the next-generation Seltos could steal sales away from the Niro HEV.

The current Niro measures 4385mm long, making it only marginally larger than the 4420mm Seltos, which is expected to grow in its next generation.

Kia confirmed at its Investor Day earlier this year that it plans to expand its hybrid lineup from six models in 2024 to eight in 2026 and nine in 2028, with next-generation hybrid powertrains to offer improved performance, torque and fuel efficiency.

In Australia, Kia sold 4048 hybrids across the Sportage, Niro, Sorento and Carnival model lines between January and September 2024.

This placed it seventh out of the 11 brands that sell hybrids in Australia, well behind market leader Toyota (88,919 sales) and with less than half the total of Hyundai (9062 sales).

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