Photo: Kia
Kia has introduced a new badge on the Stinger, which writes “E,” instead of its brand. Evidently, it got people confused, and it appears it was all for nothing.
Initially, people thought that Kia had patented the name for the Stinger’s electric version, a model that has not been confirmed or discussed outside the automaker’s offices. Instead, it was just a badge for the domestic market, which means South Korea, where the Stinger will be sold.
The news comes from the Australians at CarAdvice, who contacted the brand’s representatives on their market. Surprisingly, the officials of the automaker could not explain why the decision was made, or that is the version they decided to present to those who asked.
It is unusual for an automaker to make decisions like these, which do not imply entirely changing the name, logo, or brand of a car for a particular market, but without explaining why that happens.
Moreover, this is something even more complicated, because it involves changing a known marque, Kia, with “E,” which could stand for Excellence or many other words like that.
Evidently, this would not have been a problem in the 1980s or 1990s, and is not technically wrong today, but this would not have been news at the time.
These days, adding the “E” badge to a car could make people believe it is an EV model, or at least a hybrid. However, that is not the situation, and it is unclear if Kia ever wants to sell an electric version of the Stinger.
If they change their minds again, we wish them good luck naming the new version, as a result, could be the “E Stinger EV” on its domestic market. That is just our guess, evidently, so do not bet anything valuable on this happening. On the other hand, do not be entirely sure it will not happen, because automakers tend to change their minds these days.
The news comes from the Australians at CarAdvice, who contacted the brand’s representatives on their market. Surprisingly, the officials of the automaker could not explain why the decision was made, or that is the version they decided to present to those who asked.
It is unusual for an automaker to make decisions like these, which do not imply entirely changing the name, logo, or brand of a car for a particular market, but without explaining why that happens.
Moreover, this is something even more complicated, because it involves changing a known marque, Kia, with “E,” which could stand for Excellence or many other words like that.
Evidently, this would not have been a problem in the 1980s or 1990s, and is not technically wrong today, but this would not have been news at the time.
These days, adding the “E” badge to a car could make people believe it is an EV model, or at least a hybrid. However, that is not the situation, and it is unclear if Kia ever wants to sell an electric version of the Stinger.
If they change their minds again, we wish them good luck naming the new version, as a result, could be the “E Stinger EV” on its domestic market. That is just our guess, evidently, so do not bet anything valuable on this happening. On the other hand, do not be entirely sure it will not happen, because automakers tend to change their minds these days.
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