The arrival of the new Kia Stonic crossover will see the Venga mini-MPV axed from Kia’s range, as the firm seeks to streamline its line-up as well as chase sales in the ever-growing European SUV market sector.
Kia’s European chief operating Officer, Michael Cole told us at the expose of the new Kia crossover that a new generation of the Venga would be “difficult to justify” with the introduction of the Stonic.
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The Venga sits in a saturated market that has felt the capture of the advancement of the crossover, as well as has been on sale in the UK because 2009 after making its debut at that year’s Frankfurt motor Show.
It’s always been a bit-part player in Kia’s range, with sales declining across Europe in recent years in spite of a facelift to keep the mini-MPV modestly fresh in early 2015. just over 26,000 were offered in Europe last year, accounting for 6 per cent of Kia’s overall European sales of 430,945.
The B-SUV section that the new Stonic slots into currently accounts for 1.1 million yearly new vehicle sales in Europe, as well as according to Kia is forecast to grow to much more than two million per year by 2020, overtaking larger C-segment SUVs in the process.
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