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2019 Kia K900 flagship sedan debuts: Reserved luxury reimagined

After those teasers and brochure shots, the 2019 Kia K900 flagship sedan is here in the metal, presented at the New York Auto Show. Kia reminds us that the only thing carried over from the old car is the name, but the car's design is still reserved rather than ostentatious. The information withheld in Kia's K900 news to date was the available powertrain, but it's now announced to have the same 3.3-liter twin turbo V6 as the Stinger. It produces 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque, and it's paired to an eight-speed, homegrown automatic transmission like in the Stinger. The V6 is the sole engine choice, and likewise the K900 has torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive as standard. The previous generation car was rear-drive, and the Stinger has rear-drive variants, but for the new K900 it's AWD all the way. The system can distribute up to 50 percent of power to the front and as much as 80 percent to the rear. Kia performance chief Albert Biermann says the new K900 is 33 percent stiffer than the outgoing car, for improved ride and handling. In its home market, the K900 will reportedly be available with a five-liter V8, but that's not part of the U.S. portfolio. Inside, the K900's cocoon-like leather and wood interior ambience can be enhanced with its Pantone-assisted mood lighting system. There are seven color settings, which are meant to convey the feel of oceans, forests, skies — and presets can even imitate the aurora borealis. Another feature of the interior lighting is that proximity sensors can brighten the dashboard controls by 20 percent when the driver reaches for the switches. The 12.3-inch HMI touchscreen supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the car's settings can be toggled using a bespoke UVO telematics system. Four cameras provide the driver with a stitched-together 360-degree view of the car's surroundings, and HUD is an option. Driver assists include smart cruise control with lane functions and a driver fatigue monitoring system. In addition to the K900, Kia is also introducing the refreshed-for-2019 Optima and Sedona. The facelifted Optima now comes with optional two-tone sport leather seats, and it shares some of the K900's driver assist systems as standard: collision avoidance and warning, lane keeping assist and driver fatigue monitoring.

Hyundai boosted production in March, so now its cars sit in U.S. ports

SEOUL — As Detroit's automakers shut production in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's Hyundai cranked up its factories back home to ship cars to the United States, a move that is proving costly for the world's fifth-largest auto group. Hyundai ramped up domestic production to as much as 98% of capacity by late March, not only as the Korean market was recovering from a bad February but also because it bet on demand for Tucson SUVs and other models from U.S. customers, its biggest overseas market outside of China. While Hyundai is one of few global automakers whose production has recovered at home, its exports optimism has been dampened by the severity of the U.S. outbreak, weak consumer sentiment and as rivals have quickly moved to guard their turf. Consignments of cars shipped from South Korea are now sitting in U.S. ports, with dealers slow to take deliveries because of slumping sales and rising inventory, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The company idled a Tucson production line at home last week for five days, while sister firm Kia is looking to suspend three Korean plants for a week. And analysts now expect a sharp drop in first-quarter operating profit when it reports results on Thursday and some even forecast a second-quarter loss. "I hope that the situation will recover by the middle of next month. If not, we might have to lay off some people," said Brad Cannon, general manager of an exclusive Hyundai dealership in California, whose sales are down more than 50% from when the pandemic started. Hyundai runs a factory in Alabama — which is closed until May 1 — but imports are key to meet U.S. demand. Only about half of its vehicles sold in the United States are made in North America compared to between 68% and 85% for Japanese rivals Toyota, Nissan and Honda, who have also suspended production there till May. The South Korean company makes about 61% of its cars overseas, up from 48% a decade ago. That leaves it vulnerable to overseas factory shutdowns and shrinking demand outside of its home market. Hyundai's South Korean factory operation, which had recovered from a component shortage from China to nearly 100% capacity by March, could fall to as much as 70% in April, the company recently told analysts. "We will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action promptly," Hyundai said in an emailed statement. Minimizing the impact For its part, Hyundai has taken measures to minimize the impact.

Kia dealers report K900 flagship RWD sedan is coming to US

Kia has told dealers that it will bring a $50,000 to $70,000, rear-drive flagship sedan to the United States early in 2014, although it won't be called what you think. Instead of the unloved Quoris name, the full-size sedan will be called the K900.
That name change is a welcomed one, judging by our initial reactions to Quoris. Names aside, though, the K900 sounds like an interesting piece of kit. It'll be riding on the same platform as the Hyundai Equus, although we suspect Kia's car will be quite a different beast than it's corporate cousin. Automotive News is reporting that the K900 should have a pair of engines when it arrives in the US - a 3.8-liter V6 and a 5.0-liter V8. The former puts out 290 horsepower, while the V8, which is likely the same Tau engine found in the Equus, should have around 420 hp. LED headlights, adaptive cruise control and all the other trimmings expected at this price point will also make appearances on the K900.
Kia's national dealer council, Don Hobden, told Automotive News the K900 should represent "7-Series value for a 5-Series price." While Kia wouldn't comment on the new model, AN reports that it's targeting 5,000 units next year, with a limited rollout at select dealerships.