Kia Australia head honcho, Damien Meredith, remains confident that Kia can continue to grow its market share, despite acknowledging the growing threat of an influx of Chinese brands into the Australian market.

“Chinese cars were 20 per cent of the market in 2025, and will continue to grow,” Meredith told media at the launch of the manufacturer’s newest electric car, the EV4. “Kia sold more than 82,000 cars last year, which is a 6.8 per cent market share, but we won’t lose focus.”

Chinese car brands have made huge strides very quickly in the Australian new car market with a
compelling blend of sharp pricing, long standard features lists, and robust warranty terms, forcing the
established brigade to sit up and take notice. Kia, not so long ago a challenger brand itself, is one company that won’t be asleep at the wheel.

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“We intend to grow in 2026,” Meredith said. “It’s likely to be a similar volume for the market as
2025, but we believe the Chinese brands will continue to grow, and we will gouge market share
from any brand we possibly can.”

Part of that success in 2026 will no doubt be an acceleration in sales for the Kia Tasman, the
Korean brand’s first dual-cab and a bold entry into what is a ferociously competitive segment. It’s a
segment nearly every manufacture wants a piece of, including the challenger brands who can see the value of a successful dual-cab.

LDV and GWM were the first Chinese-made dual-cabs off the rank in Australia, followed by BYD and its pioneering Shark 6 and MG’s U9. JAC entered the Australian market in late-2024, while Korean brand KGM (formerly SsangYong) updated its Musso dual-cab. It’s a segment that shows no signs – yet – of slowing down.

“We’ve got great faith in the Tasman as a product,” Meredith said. “We’ll keep working hard to make sure it’s a success in this market, and we are not making or looking for excuses.”

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The Tasman has only been on the market in Australia for seven months, so in one sense, it’s harsh to
judge Kia’s dual-cab before it’s had a full year to bed in.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do. We know that it’s a great product and we know that it will work in the Australian market,” Meredith said. “Australia has asked for this product, so we want it to succeed.”

Kia’s success in Australia was accelerated by what was then an industry standard setting seven-year
warranty, and that, along with the brand’s dealer network will remain a key focus as it looks to
strengthen it’s position further in Australia.

“We have to grow, we have to compete and care about our customer through our dealer network,” Meredith said. “Every aspect of our business is a focus, that’s the differentiation and that’s what
we’ll be working on.”