Kia Pulls the Plug on K9 Flagship Sedan After Sales Plummet 87%

S. as the K900. The decision comes after sales cratered from 11,843 units in 2018 to just 1,581 in 2025, a staggering 87% drop. The rear-wheel-drive sedan, which Kia once pitched as a challenger to BMW and Mercedes, will be discontinued entirely by the end of 2026, according to a report from Korea's Hankyung citing industry sources and labor unions.

The K9 launched in 2012 as a replacement for the Opirus, sharing its platform with Hyundai's Equus and Genesis sedans. A second-generation model arrived in 2018 on Genesis G80 underpinnings, followed by updates in 2021 and 2024. Despite these refreshes, the car never found a steady audience.

Its best year was 2012 with 13,931 sales in South Korea. By the first half of 2026, only 734 units had moved. For context, the mechanically similar Genesis G80 sold 41,291 units in 2025, while the front-wheel-drive Hyundai Grandeur—a sibling to the Kia K8—moved 71,775.

The K9 never offered a hybrid option, relying on V6 engines after the V8 was dropped in 2021. 3-liter V6 with all-wheel drive. Kia will repurpose the sedan's production lines for future electric vehicles and purpose-built vehicles, freeing up resources for more profitable projects.

When the last K9 rolls off the line, the front-wheel-drive K8 will become the largest sedan left in Kia's lineup, closing a 14-year chapter on the brand's most ambitious luxury experiment.