The Kia Soul, one of the Korean brand’s most popular—although perhaps not universally beloved—cars is going away. On Monday, Kia announced that 2025 would be the last model year for the Soul, with production ending this month. The brand notes that there are still a few thousand on dealer lots, if you really want one.
Kia debuted the Soul in 2009, and the company has sold over 1.5 million in the US over three generations. As the New York Times reported at its launch, Kia wanted a competitor to the Scion xB, a sort of box on wheels with a different character than a conventional hatchback.
Like the xB, the Soul lived in the liminal space between compact and crossover, with a tall, upright driving position more like the latter. Kia wanted it to appeal to young city-dwellers, though it actually became popular with older buyers because of that upright driving position and easy entry/egress.
Of course, the Soul is probably best known for its advertising campaign, which featured animated hamsters. A lot of people hated (and still hate) those commercials, but as Kia points out, the brand’s sales in the US tripled during the Soul’s lifetime, and this funky little car was a huge contributor to that. When it arrived, Kia was a budget alternative automaker in the US, but now, it’s truly mainstream, with an excellent lineup of cars and SUVs.
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Soul sales, however, are way down from their near 150,000-peak in 2015; last year, Kia moved around 53,000. Kia’s cash cows now are larger SUVs like the Sportage, Sorento, and Telluride. Meanwhile, Kia has some overlapping offerings in the Seltos subcompact SUV and the upcoming K4 Hatchback, which should pick up former Soul customers.
Cancelling the Soul also reflects a current reality for the automotive industry: With tariffs, selling cheap, imported cars simply isn’t profitable, and the Soul is made in Korea. Given that the third-generation Soul debuted in 2019, it was nearing the end of its life anyhow, and Kia was probably always going to refocus efforts towards more popular (and profitable) segments and EVs.
Still, the Soul was Kia’s cheapest offering at $21,395, and its death is just yet another affordable, compelling new car gone at a time of high inflation and wage stagnation.
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