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Kia Discontinues Cadenza and K900 From U.S. Lineup, No Replacements Are Planned

First things first, open the U.S. configurator and glance over the most expensive passenger cars that Kia sells in this part of the world. Starting at $37,850 and $59,900 excluding freight, the Cadenza and K900 have been canceled for the 2021 model year for an obvious reason.
Kia K900 27 photos
Photo: Kia
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Both full-size sedans are selling worse than ever, but are you even surprised? After all, Kia doesn’t hold a candle to the ever-popular Toyota Avalon in this segment. Price-oriented customers are most likely picking the Nissan Maxima over the Cadenza, which, by the way, was facelifted only a year ago. As for the other end of the spectrum, Genesis offers an impressive array of standard features in the all-new G80.

According to Car & Driver, “the Cadenza contributed a paltry 1,265 sales for Kia in 2020 and the K900 recorded just 305 sales.” For reference, the range-topping Genesis G90 moved 2,072 examples of the breed last year.

Speaking to the cited publication, Kia stated that it’s realigning to sport utility vehicles because that’s hot stuff for the time being. North America’s appetite for crossovers and truck-based utilities doesn’t appear to be quenched either because increasingly more SUVs are launched in pretty much every segment. Ford, for instance, has more than 200,000 reservations for the new Bronco that shares its ladder frame with the upcoming Ranger.

Don’t expect Kia to abandon traditional body styles, though. The Rio and Forte are important to the South Korean manufacturer despite very small profit margins. The K5 – previously known as the Optima – is arguably the coolest-looking newcomer in the mid-size segment, although it doesn’t have the appeal of the Toyota Camry. Last but certainly not least, the performance-oriented Stinger soldiers on with rear- or all-wheel drive.

As for utility vehicles, well, you’re pretty much covered from the Soul to the Telluride. On an ending note, did you know the Forte has somehow outsold the Sportage last year with 84,997 units compared to 84,343 units?
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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