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Kia Australia says “it’s business as usual” with the Kia Stinger locally, even though markets such as New Zealand and the UK have dropped the rear-drive GT car
Kia will continue to sell its Stinger rear-wheel-drive GT car locally into the future, citing its popularity both privately and with the Australian police force.
Kia Australia’s general manager of product planning Roland Rivero told Chasing Cars this week that although Stinger will not continue in markets such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom, Australia will continue to be a market for the rear-drive tourer.
“(In NZ and UK) I don’t believe the Stinger reached the same levels of success. It actually makes sense for them to push EV6 as the halo product as opposed to Stinger.
“There’s still demand (in Australia) for a non-SUV, rear-wheel-drive product that has got a bit of get-up-and-go.
“So for us in Australia, it’s still business as usual. We don’t see it disappearing anytime soon. We’ve got it in our business plan for next year,” Rivero continued.
Rivero said that one of the reasons Stinger has been dropped in overseas markets is to do with emissions regulations, as well as a slump in sales.
While in the United Kingdom it is a significant right-hand-drive market, emissions regulations are making it more and more difficult to sell thirsty sports cars.
Reports from Autocar state that in the UK, the Stinger will be replaced by the flagship electric EV6 product, the 430kW GT, with Kia citing future electrification plans to be the key reason behind the Stinger’s demise.
But the Stinger was also a low-volume seller, shifting just over 2300 units since its introduction to the UK in 2017.
New Zealand, on the other hand, received the news about Stinger much earlier. In December 2021, it was announced by Kia’s local arm that the model would be cancelled as the brand accelerates towards ‘Plan S’ – electrification, connectivity and autonomy for the future.
However, for Australia, as Kia Australia puts it, “the spirit of Stinger will live on”.
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