Kia Stinger to be discontinued in 2022

The Kia Stinger is about to be axed from the South Korean automaker’s lineup next year. As per the Korean Car Blog, the production of the 1st and only generation Stinger will stop by the second quarter of 2022.

While many have expected Kia’s halo car to continue its lifespan until 2024, some local industry sources in Korea stated that the brand released its production plans for all of its South Korean plants, including the Sohari Plant, for the year 2022. Unfortunately, this has brought in bad news for Stinger, as Kia plans to cease production of the Stinger by the second quarter of 2022. This decision was brought up by the several adjustments made after experiencing continued sluggish sales.

The Kia Stinger is one of the few rear-wheel-drive fastbacks in the market today. It was originally launched with a 3.3-liter Twin Turbo V6 gasoline engine which is currently the sole engine option for the Philippine market. Fast-forward to 2020, and other international markets were given the Stinger with a smaller 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine. 

Despite its updates, the halo car isn’t doing so well in terms of sales with only 3,525 units shipped. Moreover, during the Stinger’s launch, Kia set a 1,500 units sales target per month, but the performance of the Stinger in the last two years was less than half of the target.

Since Kia will soon be stopping the production of the Stinger in its Sohari Plant in Korea, what are its operation plans in the future? As per the Korean Car Blog, the brand is set to transform the lines at Sohari Plant to start the mass production of electrified vehicles such as the Carnival Hybrid.

If this were to be true, then it could possibly affect the availability of the Kia Stinger in the Philippines. Given this news, could we still get the refreshed model before it’s finally axed in Kia’s lineup? Still crossing our fingers on this, for now, let’s just stay tuned and wait for any confirmed updates from the South Korean automaker.