The Kia Soul, a boxy little crossover made popular by a series of commercials featuring dancing hamsters, will go out of production later this month, ending a 16-year run due to declining global sales. Headlight.News has more.
The Kia Soul was originally inspired by the idea of a “boar with a backpack.”
With its boxy shape and a quirky ad campaign featuring dancing hamsters, the Kia Soul became an unlikely hit when it debuted in the 2010. But after a 16-year run and a number of updates and makeovers, the subcompact CUV will go out of production later this month.
Since launch, the Korean carmaker has sold 1.5 million of the crossovers – whose name was a play on that country’s capital city of Seoul. But demand has been steadily dwindling over the last several years and Kia will shift focus to its other entry model, the K4, going forward.
“The Soul was one of the cornerstones in Kia gaining a foothold in the United States, and this one-of-a-kind vehicle – and the marketing supporting it – helped Kia move to where it resides today,” said Eric Watson, Vice President, Sales, Kia America.
Dancing “Hamstars”
Kia hasn’t revived the Soul Hamsters in a number of years.
The original version of the Kia Soul, first revealed in 2008 – and launched the following year – was one of an assortment of boxy crossovers, including the Scion xB and Nissan Cube. Both had short half-lives compared to the Kia offering, some analysts giving credit to a quirky ad campaign featuring hip-hop-styled hamsters – “Hamstars,” according to the Kia marketing machine. They certainly gave some soul to the Soul, ads featuring them dancing to music like LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.”
The original Soul was reportedly inspired by a nature documentary and, rather than hamsters, the original design sketch actually was meant to look something like a “boar wearing a backpack.”
Over the past 16 years, Soul has had a number of tweaks and two full makeovers – an all-electric option added, meanwhile, in 2014 – but the current model retains key design details, starting with the basic boxy shape. The hamsters, however, haven’t been used in a Soul marketing campaign in a number of years.
Plenty of other options
In its early years, Soul was one of Kia’s global best-sellers, American motorists buying more than 100,000 annually after the first-generation package came to market. But demand has stumbled in recent years, falling 14% in 2024 t just 52,397. The numbers did post a modest gain – up about 1% — during the first nine months of 2025. But that was not enough of an improvement, apparently, to convince Kia to maintain the offering in its line-up.
“We are proud of the legacy Soul will leave behind as it exits our lineup, but equally excited for the future of Kia’s expansive and award-winning utility vehicle lineup,” said Watson.
In recent years, if anything, Kia’s base line-up has expanded to include the Niro, the Seltos and the K4, the latter sedan adding a hatchback package for the 2026 model-year.
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Fading memories
Soul is one of many models ending its run this year. The list also includes the Lexus LS.
Kia Soul joins a long list of once-familiar models that will vanish from showrooms come the 2026 model-year. Among others set to fade from memory:
- Audi A4
- Cadillac XT4
- Chevrolet Blazer (gas model)
- Ford Escape
- Lexus LS
- Nissan Ariya
- Porsche 718 Boxster
- Volvo S90
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