The Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid Is Dead

• Kia has discontinued the Niro plug-in hybrid in the United States.
• The company confirmed there will not be a 2026 model.
• The Niro was one of the slowest-selling Kia models in 2025, with the PHEV variant likely accounting for a tiny share.

The Kia Niro plug-in hybrid is not getting a 2026 model in the United States, the company confirmed to Kelly Blue Book. The Niro crossover has been on sale stateside with three powertrain options–hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure EV–but even when all these variants are taken into account, it still struggled to find an audience, selling a total of 31,182 units last year.

“Due to changing market conditions, the 2026 Niro PHEV will no longer be available in the U.S. market,” a Kia spokesperson said in a statement.

2024 Kia Niro EV with the 2024 Niro Hybrid and 2024 Niro Plug-in Hybrid

Kia doesn’t break out individual sales for each of the Niro’s powertrain options, but it’s likely that the PHEV version, which is currently priced from $35,935, had the lowest share of the bunch.

The first-generation Niro plug-in hybrid debuted in 2018. Then, in 2023, the second generation landed in the U.S., offering a larger interior and more electric range, going from 26 miles to 33 miles on a full charge. Recently, the Niro got a facelift in its home country of South Korea, but it’s unclear if or when the redesigned model will become available stateside. It’s also unclear if the Niro PHEV will ever return to the U.S.

The news of the Niro PHEV’s discontinuation comes hot on the heels of another piece of production-related information from Hyundai Motor Group, Kia’s parent company. The Hyundai Kona Electric, which is based on the same underpinnings as the Kia Niro EV, is going on hiatus for the 2026 model year because dealers still have 2025 models sitting on their lots.

That said, the Kona EV will return as a 2027 model, with production of U.S. models at the company’s South Korean factory set to resume this summer. 

The Kia Niro PHEV joins other discontinued plug-in models from companies including Stellantis, Ford and General Motors, with Jeep’s 4xe models, the Dodge Hornet PHEV, the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Chevrolet BrightDrop van getting the could shoulder.