Kia is eyeing to bring back the Stinger sports sedan by producing a successor that comes with an electric powertrain. It will reportedly be the production equivalent of the Kia Vision Meta Turismo, which means that the Stinger’s comeback will be in the form of a performance electric vehicle (EV).
The Vision Meta Turismo is a four-seat GT that features an angular exterior and a minimalistic yet futuristic interior. Kia previously said that the Vision Meta Turismo is the revamped Opposites United design language, a design direction that was first integrated into the EV6. But the Korean car brand could not green-light the Stinger’s comeback just yet due to a certain issue, which pertains to a highly important factor when developing and producing any vehicle: price.
Kia Global Design Chief Karim Habib said that the car brand wanted to bring back the Stinger as a performance EV, but what’s holding the company back is the cost implication, according to a report published by Autocar UK. Habib shared that the “price of doing a high-performance EV is what is slowing [Kia] down. Hopefully, the upward movement of EVs keeps going. At least that’s what we’re betting on.”
Habib added that they have “a small history of doing cars like the Stinger, and that’s something we don’t want to give up on.” The Vision Meta Turismo is Kia’s creation that shows its idea of a sports sedan for the gamer generation, and it would be using it as design inspiration should the Kia Stinger get the thumbs up to be developed and produced as a performance EV.
Seeing the Stinger comeback as a performance EV is something to look forward to, but it seems that Kia wants to wait it out a little longer before it gives in to the sports sedan’s return. As mentioned earlier, price is the biggest hurdle that the Stinger is facing for it to resurrect as a performance EV.
To put things in perspective, some of the major Japanese car brands are taking a step back when it comes to full EV adoption. Honda is among the automakers that decided to slow things down in terms of EV development after it reported a massive operating loss of about P154.5 billion (around 400 billion yen) due to its revamped EV strategy. Honda will instead shift its focus to developing hybrid vehicles due to weakening global demand for EVs, coupled with changing trade conditions.
Autocar’s Take
Kia’s intention to bring back the Stinger sports sedan as a performance EV is a nice piece of news. However, Kia is also aware that developing and producing an EV entails cost, and is aware that price could hinder the Stinger’s comeback. As such, its decision to take things slow and to see how the market reacts to EVs is a good move.
Kia obviously doesn’t want to be in the same position as Honda, which is making adjustments in its EV roadmap due to the weakening global demand for electric vehicles. It’s better to be patient and hope that EVs will be the main powertrain moving forward, which could give the possibility of bringing down overall production and cost.
