Kia Quietly Discontinues Rondo in the U.S.

Kia appears to have quietly killed-off its Rondo MPV in response to a continued slide in sales. Visitors to the Rondo page on Kia’s U.S. website are greeted with the news, “Thank you for inquiring about the Rondo. As the saying goes, ‘all good things must come to an end’ But with endings, come new beginnings…” Below that message is an image of the new 2011 Kia Sportage, directing customers that that page where they can check out the stylish new compact crossover.

The Rondo’s demise was stumbled upon by the team at Autoblog, who then contacted Kia and received this response. “Kia has not yet decided on a 2011 model, but the 2010 is still available in dealerships.”

Kia managed to move just 14,206 Rondos last year, a 50 percent drop from 2008 when the company sold 28,645 units. The Rondo would seem to be the latest casualty in the Kia lineup with the Korean automaker recently dropping the Borego full size SUV.

This move also looks to be a part of a larger product switch from Kia away from old models and old designs towards fresh and exciting new products. Unfortunately for those few looking at a Rondo, the Sportage simply doesn’t offer the same utility.

Of note, Kia Canada isn’t following suit with any message on its website, suggesting the Rondo will continue on there. This isn’t surprising as sales of MPVs like the Rondo and Mazda5 are strong in Canada

Posted in: Kia,Rondo,Sales,USA