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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from TheTruthAboutCars https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/cars/news-blog/another-one-bites-the-dust-kia-killing-the-rio-after-2023-44502508?utm_medium=auto&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=all_full
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