Another One Bites the Dust: Kia Killing the Rio After 2023
Mitsubishi recently announced that it would discontinue the Mirage, removing one of America’s few remaining affordable new cars. Kia is now cutting another sub-$20,000 option with its announcement of the Rio’s demise after 2023.
Though disappointing, the move isn’t a surprise. Hyundai cut the Rio’s corporate counterpart, the Accent, after 2022, and sales of the subcompact have been slow for a while. Kia will continue building sedans, but cars have fallen off in favor as SUVs and trucks have taken over the world.
As Automotive News pointed out, the shift is likely tied to Kia’s electrification ambitions. The automaker’s factory in Monterrey, Mexico, builds the Rio, and the company is expected to retool the facility for EV production. Kia currently builds the EV6 in South Korea and needs a North American manufacturing location for its vehicles to qualify for federal tax credits.
We could argue the virtues of small cars like the Rio and Mirage all day, but there’s a need for affordable vehicles, even if they’re far from exciting. Average vehicle purchase prices in the U.S. have ballooned, reaching nearly $50,000, out of reach for a significant chunk of the country. Electric vehicles haven’t helped the trend, and despite the fact that they’re becoming more affordable over time, they are still more expensive than their gasoline-powered counterparts.
[Image: Kia]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Oh no, what will I rent on m island vacations? As awful as these cars are, I would never purchase one, they were Ideal for bombing around in the Virgin Islands for a week.
not all buyers prefer SUVs or Trucks some of us would still rather a sedan especially beginner drivers starting with a compact sedan like a Toyota Corolla Honda Civic etc. and working their way up to a midsized like a Camry Accord Chevrolet Malibu etc. then eventually up to a full size car like a Chevrolet Impala Ford Crown Victoria Buick Lesabre Lexus LS 400 etc.
EVs are more expensive than less expensive cars. In the US - after tax rebates - they range from around 20 K and up. A Tesla can be had for under $30K. KIA/Hyundai do need a North American plant, but still qualify for lease incentives in the IRA.
Ready for the K3 to debut in the USofA. Too bad Stellantis, Ford and GM gave up on cars.