The 5th gen Kia Sportage that made its world debut in June 2021 is officially two years old in global markets. Featuring a completely new design inside & out as well as new powertrains including hybrid & plugin hybrid, this Sportage marks the beginning of its availability in two different iterations— a Long Wheelbase (LWB) version for South Korean domestic, North American and other key international markets, and a Short Wheelbase (SWB) version for European markets.
The South Korean automaker’s Sportage is regarded as one of its oldest and most successful models. Not only it is Kia’s best-selling model, but it also happens to be the first Kia to ever surpass cumulative global sales of 6 million units, reaching the milestone in May 2021.
The new 5th generation Sportage has since been released in right-hand-drive (RHD) markets including Australia, South Africa, the UK, and other European markets, in addition to a number of other regions across the world. However, Pakistan is the only country where the outdated 4th generation Sportage is still being sold.
Related: Pakistan is the Only Place Where Old Sportage is Still Assembled
Sparing Stonic, three out of four locally assembled Kia cars in Pakistan are globally retired models. The obsolete 4th generation Sportage is Kia’s best-selling model in our country, as it sells even better than the obsolete 2nd generation Picanto which happens to be the least expensive model in Kia Pakistan’s lineup. At one time, the Sportage was also Pakistan’s third-best-selling locally assembled car, according to unofficial statistics.
Since the beginning of this year, despite challenging economic times, Kia was able to sell 3,204 units of Sportage which is far better than the 830 units of Picanto sold during the first 5 months of this calendar year. As it stands, the sales of Sportage are 286% higher than that of Picanto, the second highest-selling model of Kia in Pakistan.
Related: Remembering the First-Gen Kia Sportage in Pakistan
Despite this, Kia is happy to continue with the obsolete Sportage in Pakistan, alongside the globally obsolete Picanto and Sorento models. It is unclear how long Kia’s lineup in our country will continue to be dominated by globally retired models, but given the state of the economy, it appears that the outdated Kia vehicles are here to stay.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
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