Kia Stinger on borrowed time! Production end date set for spiritual successor to Holden Commodore SS and Ford Falcon XR8: report

Kia has reportedly set the Stinger’s production end date, with the sports sedan all but confirmed to not get a second generation.

The Stinger’s future has, of course, been the subject of much debate, but the series will come to a close by the second half of next year, according to DailyCar.

Citing local industry sources, the South Korean publication claims Kia released its MY22 production plans on July 16, with the Stinger revealed to be stopping its run at the Sohari plant within the next 18 months.

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The facility in question will allegedly be retooled for the mass production of electrified vehicles, including the upcoming Carnival Hybrid people mover, sealing the Stinger’s fate.

As reported in March, Kia’s president and CEO, Ho Sung Song, told media, including CarsGuide, that the Stinger would “continue … in the next, coming years”, which lines up with other previous reports that the model would be discontinued around 2024.

That said, it appears the Stinger’s retirement has been brought forward since then, with it having been facing the axe globally due to weak sales in the shrinking Large Sedan segments of key markets, including the US.

The facelifted version of the first-generation Stinger only entered Australian showrooms last December, with the pre-facelift version having been revealed in January 2017 as a spiritual successor to the homegrown VF Holden Commodore and FG X Ford Falcon, which were also rear-wheel-drive heroes.

As reported, the Stinger is powered by either a 182kW/353Nm 2.0-litre single-turbo four-cylinder engine or a 274kW/510Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6, with both petrol units mated to an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.

The Stinger is priced between $50,050 and $63,760 plus on-road costs, with all four of its variants becoming $740 to $2940 more expensive following the aforementioned facelift, while a range-wide $500 increase followed in April.