Kia PH wants to launch Sorento PHEV

Yesterday, Kia Philippines distributor AC Mobility officially revealed its newest mini crossover SUV, the 2024 Sonet. Set to go up against the likes of the Toyota Raize, the A-segment SUV starts at PHP 758K and tops out at PHP 1.138 million, making it one of the most competitively-priced mini SUVs to date.

With the Stonic riding off into the sunset, the Sonet will now serve as Kia’s most affordable vehicle in the lineup. Elsewhere in the automaker’s lineup, some vehicles could use some updating or refreshing. However, Kia appears to be cooking up something later this year.

We already know they will be launching the EV5 later this year which will sit alongside the EV6. What we have yet to see is the brand delving into hybrids or plug-in hybrids (PHEV). Fortunately, that will soon change as we recently received word they will be joining that particular segment.

According to a well-placed source, Kia is already making the necessary preparations to bring the Sorento PHEV into the Philippines. You read right, the turbo-hybrid version of the Sorento with an electric motor and a battery pack is on its way here soon.

No official specifications are available yet although based on international versions, the Sorento PHEV will come with a 1.6-liter turbo inline-four that makes an admirable 180 PS with 265 Nm of torque. Impressive, but since this is a PHEV, it’s assisted by an electric motor and a 13.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The result is a combined system output of 265 PS and 350 Nm of torque. Power is then transferred to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.

2024 facelift of the Kia Sorento

Compared to the 2.2-liter turbo-diesel Sorento, the electrified version makes 63 PS more. However, the diesel-powered version still makes the most amount of torque with 441 Nm but the Sorento PHEV will be exempted from the number coding scheme. More importantly, Kia might be able to price it competitively in the midsize crossover SUV market as President Bong Bong Marcos cut the import duties of hybrids to zero.

With a plug-in hybrid variant of the Sorento arriving soon, perhaps this will become more popular than the diesel-powered versions of the midsize crossover SUV. And with Hyundai already receiving regulatory approval for a 1.6-liter engine for what could be the Santa Fe Hybrid (or PHEV), it will be quite interesting to see the two brands possibly have a rivalry in the midsize crossover segment.

Last but not least, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the PHEV variant (and perhaps the updated turbo-diesels) will be based on the facelifted version launched last year.