Kia Australia has confirmed it’s no longer taking orders for its Stinger liftback, as production winds down in Korea.
General manager for production planning at Kia’s local arm, Roland Rivero, told CarExpert the brand has communicated a stop-sale to dealers, and will fulfil its current order bank.
“We can confirm that we have advised our Dealers that no further VFOS orders will be taken for Stinger as the factory focuses on producing outstanding orders prior to the end of production,” Mr Rivero said.
“We have an allocation of Stinger still to be built, as we look to fulfil existing backorders. We have the support of Kia HQ to produce the outstanding balance and aiming to deliver vehicles to customers with paid deposits, eagerly awaiting their vehicle.”
Stinger Tribute Edition 
Kia confirmed the Stinger’s demise in December, indicating the turbocharged liftback would be ceasing production sometime in 2023.
The domestic market scored a Tribute Edition to see out the nameplate’s final months, with 1000 units in a unique specification released in select global markets to send off the former flagship.
While Australia won’t be getting any of the Tribute Editions, that didn’t stop the Stinger from having a great 2022 sales year despite supply challenges – it managed 2242 registrations, marking growth of 59.3 per cent for the year.
It’s also worth noting that the overwhelming majority of customers – “over 90 per cent” according to Kia – are opting for the top-spec Stinger GT with its twin-turbocharged 3.3-litre V6, which until the stop-sale was available from $71,390 drive-away.
Stinger GT
Once production ends later this year, the Stinger will pass the baton over to the all-electric EV6 crossover, which has a new performance halo in the 430kW EV6 GT flagship.
Capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 3.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 260km/h, the EV6 GT pumps out performance numbers within reach of something like an Audi RS6 Avant – which is more than twice the Kia’s $99,590 asking price.
See below for Kia’s touching tribute to the Stinger on Instagram, and share your thoughts in the comments.
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