Recently, foreign media reported that Kia k5/ Hyundai Sonata, once the "light of Korean cars", made way for the "electrification" of the group, or will stop production in the near future In addition, another "driver's car" stinger, built on the same platform as Kia K5, also reported that it would be discontinued due to poor sales in the United States.
Earlier, the Korean media Chosun Ilbo reported that the next generation Sonata, originally scheduled to be launched around 2025, had not been developed inside Hyundai Motor. Even Hyundai insiders said, "sonata will stop production and its assembly line will be transformed to produce electric vehicles. This is an open secret of the company."
Looking back, Korean cars were once very popular in China by virtue of "cost performance". In 2013, the sales volume of Korean cars in the Chinese market even exceeded that of South Korea, and China became the largest exporter of Hyundai and Kia cars. In 2016, the sales volume of Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng Yueda Kia in China reached the peak. The annual sales volume of Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng Yueda Kia reached 1.14 million and 650000 respectively. Even if Beijing Hyundai's sales volume of over one million is put into the current domestic market, few domestic car companies have achieved it.
Although the news that Kia k5/ Hyundai Sonata is about to stop production is somewhat surprising, considering that Hyundai Kia group is focusing on electrification, the company has confirmed that the upcoming IONIQ 6 will be roughly the same as sonata. Therefore, this "blood exchange" is not uncommon in major car companies.
Compared with the above two models, the situation of Kia stinger may be more severe. The news that the model will be discontinued has been widely spread. Insiders said that the production of the model will end after this quarter. After all, Hyundai Kia has publicly stated that it will only produce electric vehicles from 2035 and will gradually withdraw internal combustion engine vehicles from the market, so it is absolutely unnecessary to spend more time and money on internal combustion engine vehicles, not to mention stinger is so small.
As the once famous Korean cars, Kia K5 and Hyundai Sonata are about to become victims under the tide of electrification, which makes people sigh. Maybe their era is really over.