Kia Seltos 2026: hybrid-only range in Australia to face Hyundai Kona, Toyota Corolla Cross and Honda HR-V

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The second-generation Kia Seltos will only be sold in Australia with hybrid engines in a move designed to both appeal to changing customer tastes and comply with tough emissions laws.

“In the second half of the year we [will launch] the all-new Seltos — it’s a very important car for us,” Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero told Chasing Cars.

“We will offer it in hybrid only, as front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.”

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REVEALED: this is the new 2026 Kia Seltos, coming soon with hybrid power, a turbo petrol option and new styling that looks more like an EV…but there will be no electric Seltos! Is this an improvement to the small SUV? #kia #seltos #SUV #cars

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The development will see the other Seltos engines — a cost-leading petrol engine and a premium turbo petrol option — scrapped for Australia.

Specifications for the new Seltos hybrid have not yet been confirmed by Kia but the small SUV is expected to use a variant of the petrol-electric powertrain seen in its cousin vehicle, the Hyundai Kona.

The Kona hybrid’s powertrain pairs a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder engine with an electric motor to produce a combined power and torque outputs of 104kW and 265Nm.

Rivero’s confirmation that the Seltos hybrid will come with the option of all-wheel drive opens the door for more power in that variant, however.

The move will likely result in modest price increases to the Seltos to account for the additional expense of the hybrid system.

The decision to move to a hybrid-only strategy for Seltos will result in drastic fuel economy improvements for the model.

Currently, the most frugal Seltos 2.0-litre petrol is rated to consume 6.9L/100km.

But the Hyundai Kona hybrid that will likely donate its powertrain drinks just 3.9L/100km — representing a 43 percent improvement in efficiency.

For an Australian driving 15,000km per year that represents a fuel saving of about $900 annually, which should partially offset expected purchase price increases in time. 

Most importantly, the Kona hybrid produces emissions of just 88g/km of CO2, which makes it compliant with Australia’s tough New Vehicle Emissions Standard (NVES) laws until the end of 2027.

After that point, plug-in hybrid or battery electric powertrains will effectively be needed for compliance.

Kia executives confirmed that the NVES scheme was a deciding factor in shifting the Seltos to hybrid engines only.

“You have to. It is the NVES reality — but what we are finding is that Australians are quite happy to make the switch to hybrid. They are doing it with Toyota and with Hyundai product.

“We are confident they can do it with Kia product as well.”

In future, more Kia product lines that currently offer a petrol engine will be switched to an all-hybrid lineup.

“It is highly likely that there will be other full model changes [to hybrid-only engines] to follow Seltos in the coming years,” said Rivero.