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Rumormill again says Kia Stinger is on the ropes

The Kia Stinger hit the market in 2017, spending the first year of its life earning plaudits for terrific handling at an unbeatable price. Although the Stinger could shake the competition, starting in 2018 and ever since, the Stinger couldn't shake rumors that it won't get a second generation. In fact, tangential questions about the Kia began in late 2017, with the assertion that Kia needed to upgrade its dealer network if it really wanted to take on the Germans. Once sales in the key North American market began to soften, then slide, that put blood in the water. Kia's head of design couldn't put off the sharks in October 2018, telling Australian outlet Which Car that the sedan wasn't selling as well as expected in North America. He returned with the same dolor the next year when speaking to Aussie outlet Car Advice, and followed that a month later by sharing the same hesitations phrased differently with Aussie outlet CarsGuide. Now The Korean Car Blog, sourcing "a new report of the South Korean sales," alleges the situation has gotten worse thanks to the coronavirus catastrophe and the need to conserve resources. Kia had already opted not to put a new powertrain into the 2021 Stinger refresh, saving money by adding more power to the current 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 with a revised exhaust. Everyone who appreciates the Stinger has clear ideas about why it doesn't sell well in certain markets, like these Canadians, this guy in the UK, and these folks from the U.S. and other countries. TKCB believes one of the major issues is the in-house Genesis G70 competition, which has just about everything the Kia could want: A premium brand with premium touchpoints, marketing and advertising, a more rational equipment mix, near constant tweaking, and again, marketing and advertising. Does anyone remember when LeBron James and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler fronted the Stinger movement? Of course, the rumors of axing are still only rumors, and the Stinger is still only three years old. Anything can happen, apparently including the remote possibilities the Stinger morphs into a different kind of vehicle or goes electric. If the sales numbers continue as they've been going, however, something will need to happen; after an 18% dip from 2018 to 2019 in U.S. sales, the Stinger's already down 21% so far this year. Or we'd think something needs to happen — the Kia K900 remains on sale having tabbed 102 sales all of last year in the U.S., and 65 so far this year.

New Kia Sportage shots give first glimpse of interior

A 2016 Kia Sportage prototype has made the trek from the Hyundai-Kia Technical Center in Russelsheim, Germany, where we last saw it, to the snows of Northern Sweden. A month ago, we expected inspiration from the KX3 concept, now we can see it plain in the face: the swept-back headlights now sit entirely above a larger grille inlaid with the metallic ornament seen on the Kia Sorento, and the fog light housings take a vertical stance. In back will come new LED taillights with distinct elements for turn signals and reversing lights. We understand this will be the design track that Kia SUVs and crossovers take, which will be differentiated from sedan designs starting with the Optima later this year. We get a shot of the interior this time, too. Based on the steering wheel and what we can tell of the instrument panel behind the engineer's laptop, it looks like the forward section of cabin will get some sculpting but be largely similar to the current model. A smorgasbord of gasoline direct injection, diesel, and small turbo engines should be on the menu at launch, as well as the option of a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. At the low end will be the tweaked, 136-horsepower, 1.6 CRDi launched with the latest i30, at the puissant end should be the 245-hp, T-GDi.

Kia builds one millionth vehicle in the US

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG), the plant that produces the Kia Sorento crossover and Optima sedan, celebrated today as a Snow White Pearl 2014 Sorento SXL rolled off the assembly line at the 2,259-acre site, marking the one-millionth Kia to be produced on US soil.
Located in West Point, Georgia, KMMG was Kia Motors America's first manufacturing plant in the US and represented an initial investment of $1 billion. The plant started producing the 2011 Sorento on November 16, 2009 and is responsible for the creation of 11,000 jobs in West Point and the surrounding region. Production of the Optima sedan, Kia's best-selling car in the US for the past 18 months, started at the factory in 2011, and, in 2012, the completion of a $100 million expansion upped annual vehicle production capacity to 360,000.
"Building one million vehicles in less than four years is a tremendous achievement and one that each one of our more than 3,000 team members can take great pride in," said Byung Mo Ahn, Group President and CEO for Kia Motors America and KMMG.