Kia Stinger orders stopped in Australia as production winds down

Kia Australia has officially closed the order books for the Kia Stinger sports sedan as it prepares to end production amid declining sedan sales here and overseas.

The company had previously called time on the Kia Stinger but now it has advised dealers to stop accepting deposits for the vehicle and start allocating customer backorders.

About 500 Kia Stinger sedans – which already have names against them – are expected to arrive in Australia by the middle of this year. The final batch is also understood to include a handful of police cars.

Production of the Kia Stinger was due to end this month however it is believed assembly has been extended to fulfil outstanding orders for Australia.

Drive understands production of the Kia Stinger for Australia is due to conclude in the coming weeks after a run of six years and close to 10,000 reported sales.

The death of the Kia Stinger was confirmed in December 2022, amid declining sales overseas – both of the Stinger line, and the global market for large sedans with or without luxury-car prices.

MORE: Official – Kia Stinger dead

It recorded its best annual sales globally in 2018 – its first full year on sale – when approximately 33,000 were reported as sold, but this dropped to 21,700 sales in 2021, and about 15,000 cars in 2022.

The Stinger bucked the downwards trend in Australia, posting a sales record in 2022 with 2242 reported deliveries, up 59 per cent on the previous year.

Among the customers in Australia have been police forces in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

The Kia Stinger's spot as the company's performance flagship will be indirectly replaced by the EV6 GT, a two-tonne electric SUV with 430kW and a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds.

It is unlikely there will be a direct successor to the Kia Stinger with electric power for the immediate future, given the popularity of SUVs.

About 90 per cent of Kia Stinger sales in Australia have been the top-of-the-range GT model, priced from $66,460 plus on-road costs from 1 January 2023, with a 274kW/510Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 good for 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.9 seconds.

A final run of 1000 Tribute Editions has been available overseas – with unique paint and interior trim – but it wasn't offered in Australia to prioritise customer and fleet orders.