Waiting time for new hybrid cars longest for Kia Sorento at 16 months

Kia Corp.’s 2023 Sorento Hybrid [Photo provided by Kia]

Buyers of hybrid vehicles in South Korea still need to wait for about one year for delivery as they are highly sought among the consumers for their fuel efficiency, while the waiting period for new gas-powered car deliveries has shortened due to reduced demand.

According to multiple sources from the automotive industry on Monday, the estimated waiting period for new hybrid models stood at over half a year as of May.

The model with the longest waiting period was Kia Corp.’s Sorento Hybrid with 16 months. Kia’s Sportage Hybrid had an 8-month delivery period. Hyundai Motor Co.’s Tucson Hybrid had a waiting period of 7 months.

The only mid-sized hybrid sport utility vehicle (SUV) from Hyundai Motor and Kia with less than six months delivery period was the Santa Fe Hybrid.

Demand for the new Santa Fe was not high due to the anticipated release of an upcoming fifth-generation model in the second half this year that will have a completely new face lift.

The waiting period for a Kia Sorento Hybrid has been cut to only two months, reduced from 18 months at the end of last year. The Kia Sorento ranked second in the domestic auto market last year, behind Hyundai Porter work truck.

A total of 68,902 Sorentos were sold last year and 71.7 percent had a hybrid component on their engines.

The waiting period for a gasoline-only Kia Sorento has shortened from 11 months at the end of last year to six months in March and three months in May.

A preference for crossover SUVs with a hybrid component is growing among new car buyers.

For a Kia Sorento Hybrid, the lowest price is about 36 million won ($27,226), about 6 million won higher than a gasoline model at about 30 million won.

Hybrid models, however, tend to have higher fuel-efficiency, offsetting the higher initial price with lower gas bills after about five years of driving.

Buyers wanting to buy a Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson Hybrid will also have to wait for more than half a year for delivery.

The longest waiting period for an internal combustion engine SUV was the Genesis GV80, although the period for a 2.5T gasoline GV80 has been cut to seven months as of May from 30 or more months at the end of last year.

Other internal combustion engine sedans overall require three months waiting until delivery.