Kia Drops K9 Flagship Sedan to Focus on Affordable EVs
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- Kia will end K9 production by year's end with no refresh, full model change, or direct successor, according to Korea Economic Daily (July 6 industry sources)
- K9 sales collapsed from 6,585 units in 2022 to 3,898 in 2023 and just 1,581 in 2025, with only 734 sold in the first half of this year
- Kia had already pulled the K900 (the US-market name) from its American lineup back in 2021, and is now ending the model globally
- Kia's EV roadmap centers on the EV2, EV4, and EV5, with a stated goal of selling 14 EVs by 2030
- Kia is expanding its PBV (Platform Beyond Vehicle) electric van business — the PV5 is already selling, PV7 launches next year, and PV9 arrives in 2029
- Kia's first software-defined vehicle, a compact electric hatch codenamed XV1, will launch in Korea and Europe in 2027 with Level 2+ autonomous highway driving, expanding to Level 2++ city driving by early 2029
- The K9 lost customers to the Genesis G80, Genesis G90, and new Hyundai Grandeur, and its lack of a hybrid option factored into Kia's decision to discontinue it
Why it matters: Kia is permanently exiting the large luxury sedan segment — not replacing the K9 with anything — to concentrate on higher-volume, lower-cost EVs and vans. With K9 sales down roughly 76% from 2022 to 2025 and in-house competition from Genesis and Hyundai cannibalizing its premium niche, the automaker is betting its next decade on mass-market electrics and software-defined vehicles instead of flagships.
