Kia EV6 GT is on the way, but Australia will keep Stinger

January 2023: Kia EV6 GT driven in Australia

"This isn't even my final form", chuckled the 239kW & 605Nm EV6 GT-Line last year. Now we understand... see our first drive review of the flagship EV6 GT, including a track test, at the link below.

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The story to here

EV6 GT is on the way, but Australia will keep Stinger

The Kia Stinger liftback will continue to be sold in Australia, despite the United Kingdom axing it in favour of the pure-electric 430kW EV6 GT.

The Kia EV6 GT has landed in Australia for suspension tuning, and is likely to go on sale in the first half of 2023, but the Stinger isn't going anywhere yet.

“Kia UK’s decision will have very little, if any, impact on Australia… the UK has CO2 regulations and effectively Stinger is not a big seller in that region,” general manager product planning at Kia Australia, Roland Rivero said.

“We don’t anticipate their decision resulting in any dramatic changes to our supply. For Kia Australia it continues to be business as usual for Stinger unless we hear something official from Kia HQ,” Rivero added.

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This echoes the sentiments of the local arm’s chief operating officer Damien Meredith in June following rumours that the Stinger would not live on for long.

“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,” Mr Meredith told Wheels.

A paltry 2300 Stinger’s have sold in the UK since its 2017 launch. In contrast, 9473 examples have been registered in Australia since its debut to the end of October 2022.

The South Korean company has seen continued sales growth Down Under with a 35 per cent increase in Stinger sales year-to-date compared to the same period 2021.

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The rear-wheel driven liftback debuted in late 2017 as Kia’s new flagship model to rival the European-made ZB Holden Commodore. But, the bespoke EV6 electric car took its reigns as the hero model in 2022.

In the most popular Stinger GT range-topper, it mates a twin-turbocharged 3.3-litre six cylinder petrol engine and eight-speed torque-converter automatic, producing 274kW of power and 510Nm of torque to the rear wheels.

In comparison, the forthcoming EV6 GT flagship – which is expected to lob early next year – gets dual electric motors outputting 430kW and 740Nm to all four wheels.