Kia will discontinue its K9 flagship sedan after 14 years

Kia has confirmed that it will discontinue its flagship K9 sedan, better known as the K900 outside South Korea, at the end of 2026, ending the 14-year-old series without any facelift, redesign or successor. The decision effectively pushes Kia, better known for its mass-market and entry-level offerings, out of the traditional large luxury sedan segment entirely. The K9 was launched in 2012 as the successor to the Opirus (branded Amanti in the US) and carried real market weight, with the second-generation model at one point becoming the ceremonial vehicle of choice for local business executives. Sales over the years have been terrific, if not spectacular; After reaching 6,585 units as recently as 2022, it fell to 3,898 in 2023, 1,870 in 2024, and 1,581 in 2025. Just 734 units have been produced in the first half of 2026, putting the car on course for what will likely be the lowest annual total on record. It is worth noting that Kia has already withdrawn the K900 from the US market in 2021. Much of this decline reflects competition from the broader Hyundai Motor Group. The Genesis G80 consistently sells between 40,000-50,000 units per year, and even the pricier G90 has a steady demand of 10,000 units per year, while the enlarged, tech-heavy Hyundai Grandeur offers similar luxury at a slightly lower sticker price. Dependent on executive fleet customers in many ways, the K9 emerged as the tastes of this consumer base shifted towards luxury SUVs rather than sedans. The lack of an electric version of the K9 (it was offered only as an internal combustion engine vehicle) also probably hurt its popularity somewhat. Other models in the same series, including the K5 and K8 sedans, were also offered as hybrids. Kia is channeling the release of the unleashed K9 into a broader electrification push, targeting 14 electric vehicles (EVs) in its global lineup by 2030. This includes EV2, EV3, EV4 and EV5 passenger models, as well as the expansion of the PBV commercial van business into a larger PV7 in 2027 and a PV9 in 2029. Software-defined vehicles (SDVs) constitute the next phase of this modernization campaign. Kia’s first distinctive SDV, a compact electric hatchback codenamed XV1, will go on sale in South Korea and Europe in 2027, equipped with SAE Level 2+ highway autonomy, among other things. The automaker has said it will move to Level 2++ urban driving in early 2029 and has hinted at an eventual electric flagship sedan via the Meta Turismo concept, although nothing has been confirmed yet. This pivot puts Kia and Hyundai on a very different path from other legacy non-Chinese automakers, especially their Japanese counterparts. Toyota and Honda are turning to hybrids and plug-in hybrids as a hedge against slower-than-expected EV infrastructure and demand, while Kia and Hyundai have previously committed to pushing dedicated EV architectures; This left the Japanese pair with a smaller pure EV market share even though they maintained their margins. This head start leaves Kia still lacking the vertically integrated cost advantage in the battery and software supply chain that Chinese rivals like D, Nio and Geely have, which continues to weigh on pricing at the lower end of the EV market that Kia currently targets. So discontinuing the K9 looks like a partial course correction: it eliminates a shrinking, reconcentrating product lineup and allows Kia to redirect that spending toward EV and SDV platforms that it hopes will define its competitiveness against both Chinese rivals and slower-moving Japanese rivals.

Information: This content was prepared and published using AutomobileMagazine’s artificial intelligence-supported publishing system, in line with the information shared by international automotive manufacturers and reliable press sources.