Kia Stinger hits record sales

The Kia Stinger achieved record sales last month, surpassing 400 registrations for the first time since its 2017 debut.

Kia sold 428 units of its sporty sedan in May, according to official industry figures for the month. The Stinger outsold models such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class and was only 140 units shy of matching the Toyota Camry.

Kia Australia says improving supply of the Stinger was particularly strong in May. The result was a 163 per cent increase on May 2021.

After a modest 77 sales in January, Stinger new-car registrations exceeded 300 for the first time in February (314 units), followed by 236 and 316 sales in March and April, respectively.

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Previously, the best Stinger month was June 2020 (247 units), while 223 sales (October 2017) was the best result in its debut year.

There has been consistent speculation that production of the current Stinger could end relatively prematurely, possibly by the end of 2022.

Kia Australia said it hopes the Stinger will continue for some time yet, especially given its current sales performance.

“If the Stinger is on borrowed time, we would have to find [approximately] 350 units a month [from elsewhere in our showroom],” said the company’s chief operating officer, Damien Meredith.

“We haven’t heard anything official from Korea about the end of [Stinger] production; the longer it goes on, the better it is for us as a company – it’s amazing, given the [supply crisis] circumstances, that this car is doing [about] 350 sales a month.”

The Stinger is averaging about 325 sales per month so far this year since February.

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The Stinger’s success combined with increased sales of the Skoda Superb to make the Large Cars under $70,000 the biggest growth segment for May (counting segments featuring more than a single vehicle).

It also contributed to an industry first for Kia, which outsold Mazda and Hyundai to be the second most popular brand for the month, behind a dominant Toyota.

Solid, if unspectacular, growth aided Kia’s cause – with the company’s sales up three per cent compared to this time last year where major supply issues reduced Mazda’s sales over the same period by nearly 40 per cent.

The Stinger wasn’t Kia’s biggest growth model in May. The Niro hybrid/PHEV/EV jumped 178 per cent, albeit based on smaller volume of 100 units last month.

Year to date sales for the Stinger are now up 76 per cent.