Car manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the demand of new car buyers in 2023. Ever since the COVID 19 pandemic where there were factory closures, lockdowns and in general global mayhem, there has been a long backlog of cars to build from years ago, let alone new orders that arrive every day. We surveyed a few dealers and here are the Kia wait times for 2023.
Kia Picanto: 4-5 Months
The smallest car in the Kia range is the Picanto, a five-door hatch that is built in the company’s Donghee plant in Seosan, South Korea. Based on retail price before on-road costs – not drive away price – it is the cheapest product on the Australian new car market, priced from $16,290 plus on-road costs. We have found that dealers are currently quoting between four-five month wait times on all variants of the Picanto, which includes the warmly turbocharged Picanto GT.
Kia Rio: 6 Months
Though Kia has recently announced the death of the Kia Rio in Australia, you can still order the small hatchback. Kia Australia have said that once this current generation of Rio is axed there will be no new model to replace it. Also built in South Korea, dealers are giving a rough six-month wait time for the Rio – though sadly you are no longer able to order the range-topping Rio GT-Line.
Kia Stonic: 3-6 Months
The Kia Stonic is a relatively new model to the Kia range in Australia, though it went on sale in other markets in 2017. It is currently the smallest SUV the company makes and it’s based on the Rio and is also built in South Korea. Depending on the variant of Stonic, you order you can expect to wait between three-six months.
Kia Cerato: 6-10 Months
The Kia Cerato Sedan and Kia Cerato Hatch have been solid sellers in the market. In 2022, Kia managed to shift 12,354 Ceratos to customers which made it the 19th best selling car in Australia. Expect to wait six-eight months for Kia Ceratos fitted with the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine (S, Sport and Sport+) and eight-10 months for the warm Cerato GT.
Kia Seltos: 6 Months
Kia recently facelifted the Seltos SUV, making it more modern and an even more enticing proposition in the small-to-medium SUV segment. It sits above the Stonic in the Kia lineup and shares this category with cars like the Mazda CX-30 and Toyota Corolla Cross. Kia dealers are currently quoting to wait around six months for a Kia Seltos, regardless of variant.
Kia Sportage: 4-12 Months
The Kia Sportage is one of the most popular cars in the Kia range. It accounts for most of its sales and in 2022, Kia managed to move 18,792 Sportages to customers, which made it the 12th best selling car of the year. With the popularity of the Kia Sportage you can imagine that you will have to wait a bit to get one. We found that dealers are quoting wait times of 4-6 months for the S and SX petrol variants and 10-12 months for the SX+ and GT-Line petrol and diesel models and 10-12 months for the S and SX Diesel models.
Kia Sorento: 3-14 Months
The largest SUV in the South Korean brand’s local line up is the Kia Sorento. This generation of three-row SUV has always had stock supply issues as it gained popularity as soon as the current model launched. All petrol V6 variants of the Sorento are subject to 12-month wait times, while you can expect to wait between three and six months for diesel Sorento S and Sport models, 12 months for Sport+ and GT-Line diesels and 12-14 months for all hybrid (PHEV and HEV) variants.
Kia Stinger: No Longer Available to Order
The Kia Stinger is a large sports sedan that was relatively popular in Australia showrooms thanks to the demise of large Australian-built sports sedans like the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, which share the classic powerful engine and rear-wheel drive sports sedan layout with the Kia. There were four variants available in the Stinger line up locally: the four-cylinder 200S and GT-Line and the V6-powered 330S and GT, the latter of which accounted for 90 per cent of all Stinger sales in Australia, according to the brand. Wait times are difficult to supply for the Kia Stinger as each dealer has a different allocation of Stingers but orders can take up to 10 months to fulfil.
Kia Carnival: 6-12 Months
The Kia Carnival is a staple piece in the Australian automotive market thanks to the demise of the Toyota Tarago. The Carnival was the best selling people mover in 2022 with 8,054 units sold. All petrol V6 Carnival models attract a 12-month wait time and diesel models are easier to come by depending on the variant. The S and Si variants have a six-month wait time while the SLi and Platinum models attract the same 12-month wait time as the petrol V6.
Kia Niro: 10-12 Months
The new Kia Niro has only recently arrived in Australia and already there are large backorders for this hybrid and electric SUV. There are two different types of Niro: the regular hybrid (HEV) Niro and the fully electric Niro EV. All variants of the Kia Niro have 10-12 month wait times.
Kia EV6: 12-18 Months
The Kia EV6 is the much anticipated dedicated electric vehicle from the Korean brand that rivals the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Polestar 2. The initial popularity of the EV6 is starting to ease off and Australia has been given more allocation of the EV6, meaning wait times have lessened to 12-18 months. The EV6 Air is the easiest to secure with the GT-Line RWD and GT-Line AWD variants demanding a longer wait time.
Have you waited a long time for a new car? Let us know in the comments below. Stay tuned to DiscoverAuto for the latest automotive news and reviews.
I have been waiting for sx awd sportage for 6 months now and has been extended for another 3 months (end of June 2023). Just wondering how you get a figure of 4-6 months waiting time now? I’m in Sydney.
cheers
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
I hope you are looking forward to your new Sportage.
We stated in the article that the S and SX Diesel (AWD) models have a wait time of 10-12-months though the SX Petrol is the model that has the wait time of 4-6 months. This is also an estimate provided to us by various Kia dealers around Australia.
Fingers Crossed your Sportage comes very soon!
Kind Regards,
Jordan Monardo
I’ve been waiting for an AWD GT Line Sportage for 12 mths. Can’t even get a build date as yet as Kia have told my dealer that they are no longer manufacturing them because of the backlog of waiting for components
I ordered a GT Sorento HEV back in May 2022 and still waiting. Rang Kia Australia and they said still in ‘pre production’ with no ETA. Was told to ring back in 6 weeks. Even if they built it today would still be 2-3 months before I got it! So frustrating I have gone elsewhere to another company
I have been waiting 11 months for Kia EV6 GT
I have been waiting for a Kia Cerato GT hatch since February 2022. I still don’t have a build date.
Just curious whether you got your car yet?
We have waited 17-months for delivery of our Kia EV6 GT-Line S RWD. Have been now advised should be in UK dealership in June 2023. Ordered Feb 2022.
I’ve been waiting for more than a year for my Seltos. As of today Kua tells me it hasn’t been scheduled for production yet.
Now you’ve got me very worried. I have an order for a cerato sport+ from February 2023 which is supposed to be here soon but I have no build date either. I don’t want to have to wait well into 2024 to receive my new car.
Ordered a Picanto by the end of December 2022. Expected to be delivered by the end of July 2023.
Sportage GT-Line ordered 13 months ago. Initial delivery date was Dec 2022, then pushed out monthly and now possibly end of September, but I suspect that is merely guess work. So I essentially have no build or delivery date that is reliable.
Ordered a Cerato Sports plus hatch just before Christmas 2022 – till now it’s just a PO in their system without “in production” status…check in every month praying for that status to change. The dealer tells me they don’t have any visibility up the chain…wow.
I ordered a Sorento PHEV in June 2022. I was told it could possibly be another 4-5 months …. I’m sure it will
Be longer at this rate. Looking at other options at this point