Kia to end the Rio among other things
March 13, 2023
Korean brands have done what no one thought they could do 20 years ago, and have become well-known reliable brands offering South Africans quality vehicles with class-leading warranties. Kia South Africa is one such brand, and lately, there has been a lot going on in the world of Kia. Here’s what you can expect.
The Rio hatch is one of the nicer-looking hatchbacks in its segment, and it simply isn’t a high-risk vehicle like the Volkswagen Polo for instance. Despite doing well in our market, the Rio’s time has come to an end. Kia South Africa has confirmed that the Rio is being discontinued in South Africa. The move to discontinue the hatch locally isn’t one that the brand would have preferred, but it's left with no choice since the Rio will no longer be produced in right-hand drive. Sales of the Rio will continue locally until the end of 2023, so if you’ve been mulling over the decision to purchase one - now is the time.
On a more positive note, two of the brand’s SUVs, the Sportage and Sorento, have been shortlisted as South African Car of The Year finalists. Kia has taken massive leaps forward with these two models and it’s no surprise that they’ve made it to the COTY finalist list. We’ve had the privilege of driving the Sportage for a review stint, and to say we were impressed with what the Koreans have done is an understatement. You can watch the review here or read the article.
To further validate their hard work, the Kia Niro, a model sold in overseas markets is vying for the World Car of the Year title. The Niro is a sustainability-focused compact SUV and is available in Hybrid, and Plugin-Hybrid. In 2023 the Niro clenched the title of ‘Supreme Winner’ at the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards, judged by a panel of 63 female motoring journalists.
We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Kia in South Africa, and we’re certain that we’ll be seeing hybrid variants and models trickling in, in the future.
Gugu Masuku - In proud association with CHANGECARS
