Kia started off 2021 with a bang, revealing a new logo and slogan with an awesome fireworks display. The Korean automaker just posted its final sales numbers for 2020, and the results are just as impressive. Kia sold 586,105 vehicles in 2020, down from 615,338 in a year plagued with a global pandemic. Though these figures are lower than last year, deliveries were up by 3.1% and Kia says it had the best retail sales year in company history.

"In the face of the pandemic, Kia saw substantial growth this past year, outpacing the industry by a significant margin on our way to a historic retail sales performance by our dealer network," noted Bill Peffer, chief operating officer & executive vice president, Kia Motors America. "Telluride continued to capture consumer attention and our network of dealer partners kept consumers interested in the brand and propelled Kia's sales growth. With five all-new or significantly redesigned vehicles set for introduction this year, Kia will continue delivering world-class products that demand increased levels of consideration from our current and potential new customers."

Kia finished 2020 strong, selling 53,764 units in December, an increase of 4.9% over the same period in 2019. Although the highly-rated 2021 Kia Telluride accounted for a huge portion of total sales with 75,129 units (an increase from 58,604 in 2019), the 2021 Kia Forte was the brand's best-seller with 84,997 units (a decrease from 95,609 in 2019). Even with a new model soon-to-be-revealed, the Sportage was the second-best-selling model with 84,343 units. The Telluride ranked third, followed by the recently-replaced Sorento with 74,677 units and the Soul with 71,862 units.

Kia's SUVs (and lone minivan model), including the Soul, Seltos, Sportage, Sorento, Telluride, and Sedona, accounted for 62% of the brand's volume, up from 58% in 2019. Sedans aren't completely dead in the water though, as the outgoing Optima still managed to find 48,484 buyers while the new K5 sold 31,656 units in an abbreviated year. Stinger sales remained niche at just 12,556 units while the Cadenza and K900 brought up the rear with 1,265 and 305 units sold, respectively.