Kia Admits Stinger Successor Is In Doubt As Sales Didn’t Live Up To Expectations

Kia says it is still yet to decide if it will launch a successor to its Stinger sports saloon.

While speaking with Car Advice at the Frankfurt Motor Show, vice president and senior chief designer of Kia’s styling studio in Germany, Gregory Guillaume, admitted that the Stinger hasn’t been selling in the numbers the company had hoped for.

“We never really expected to do massive volumes,” Guillaume said. “It was a halo car. We did want to be successful at least in America, the market where we thought there is a chance that it works. We had very high expectations for that market and it’s very difficult to start in such segments.

“The beginning of my career was at Audi. I remember… it took three generations of the A8 (limousine) to be seen on eye level to a (BMW) 7 Series or (Mercedes) S-Class. You have to persevere. If you’re entering these segments (whether) it’s premium or image vehicles, you have to give yourself a bit of time,” he explained.

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Guillaume and his design team played a pivotal role in bringing the Stinger to life and admit that customers are still coming to terms with paying a premium price for a Kia sedan.

“We have to see if Stinger continues – first of all if it will be continuing, which I really hope so – and if we think this is the format to continue in the future,” he said, before going on to suggest that if the Stinger does live on, it could be electrified.

“As you know there’s a lot going on with electrification, so it could be that Stinger becomes something else. I don’t know. We’re not there yet. We’ve got a bit of time.”