As foreign media report, production of the Stinger will cease in the second quarter of 2022. Previously, Kia wanted to drop this car in 2024, but catastrophically weak sales force it to do so even earlier. Initially, when the car just entered the market, Kia planned to sell 1,500 units of the model, but over the past two years sales have not reached even half of that figure.
Sales statistics were especially disappointing in the USA – the main market for the Stinger. In 2019, the liftback sold 13,861 units, in 2020 – 12,556 units. In the first half of 2021, sales increased slightly – by 147 cars, but given the facelift, these are hardly encouraging figures.
The Kia Stinger is one of the most failed projects in the history of the automotive industry. The manufacturer planned to enter the premium segment with this model, but could not withstand competition from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. In other words, buyers were not ready to pay $50,000 for a “Korean,” – and that is exactly the budget the Stinger is in.
It is already known that the Sohari plant, where the Stinger is produced, will undergo reorganization in early 2022. It will be re-equipped for the production of electric vehicles and hybrids.
It is worth noting that at the beginning of last month, Kia tried to revive public interest in the model by releasing a special version of the Stinger Scorpion Special Edition. Such a car received black details in the exterior trim (on the front fenders and side mirror housings), a rear spoiler in the car's color, a set of black 10-spoke alloy wheels with a diameter of 19 inches, darkened exhaust pipes, and carbon fiber inserts in the interior. Under the hood of the car is a 2.5-liter turbo engine with an output of 300 hp and 422 Nm. In the USA, the rear-wheel-drive liftback in this configuration is priced at $52,585, while the all-wheel-drive version is estimated at $54,785.
