Less Than Thirty Percent Of Kia Dealers To Sell 2015 K900

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Kia’s first RWD V8 premium sedan for the United States is set to arrive next month, though less than 30 percent of all Kia dealerships will be ready to welcome the K900 when the first shipments arrive.

Edmunds reports the $60,000 sedan — aimed at the Lexus LS 400 and Mercedes S550 — will be sold by dealerships who signed up for the $30,000 training and display package designed around the K900, according to Kia spokesman Scott McKee:

The experience is designed to shift the culture, prepare authorized K900 dealers to welcome customers who may have never visited a Kia dealership and bring with them expectations set by other luxury brands. That cultural change will have a ripple effect through our network, elevating the experience for all Kia customers.

Kia executive vice president of sales and marketing Michael Sprague added that 220 of Kia’s 765 dealers in U.S. premium markets along the coasts and within the South and Chicago have signed up thus far, though he expects more will join the party once the first phase of the training and marketing push behind the K900 is successful.

As for what customers will see when the K900 arrives in those select showrooms, the premium sedan will have its own space, with dark wood inlays cut into the floor, displays highlighting various color and trim options, and a touchscreen device showing a video of the car’s interior.

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • Dal20402 Dal20402 on Feb 27, 2014

    Phaeton, Mk II, but without the Audi engineering chops. US buyers want luxury brands. Full stop. Anytime a mainstream brand goes over approximately $40k in today's dollars, it struggles. People in this country would rather buy something with less content but the right badge. And then there's the question of whether it actually has good chassis tuning, which the first-generation Genesis and Equus did not. (Haven't driven a K900 or second-gen Genesis but looking forward to it.) Suspension and steering are the riddle the Koreans have just not been able to solve so far.

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    • Bd2 Bd2 on Mar 01, 2014

      @84Cressida Again, the LS460 is $22k cheaper than the V8 S Class and you aren't going to claim that the LS460 doesn't compete with the S Class are you (and the LS460 has the luxury badge and dealer network which Hyundai can't charge for since they don't offer it)? And that's for the LS460; when the LS400 was launched for the ridiculously low price of $35k, it undercut a well-equipped E Class, much less the S Class of the time. Really, why do I need to rehash the same things over and over debunking your claims? Are you incapable of learning anything? And the pricing of the new Genesis in Canada is very close to the GS and actually tops the GS since the GS doesn't offer a V8.

  • Mnm4ever Mnm4ever on Feb 27, 2014

    First thing: K900 is a stupid name for a car, especially a luxury car. Alone it just sounds cheap, and even moreso when following the word Kia. All I can think of when I hear it is the Robocop 6000 SUX. At least Genesis and Equus sound sort of upscale. Second thing: Am I the only one who chuckles at the Matrix-inspired commercial for this car? That poor couple at the valet stand, thinking they are getting something special, pick the red key and instead of their Benz or Lexus, out drives a Kia with a stupid name. I'd be like "Yo Morpheus, give me back my blue key!!"

  • Turboprius Turboprius on Feb 27, 2014

    Cobb County Kia already has one.

  • FJ60LandCruiser FJ60LandCruiser on Feb 28, 2014

    The Genesis (sedan) and the Equus are sleeper successes by being reasonably priced and understanded replicas of market benchmarks (Lexus). With the new Genesis looking like an elegant Audi clone with some mongrel 300 DNA thrown in, and the Equus making even the German faithful want to part with 60 large for a Korean knockoff, it was only a matter of time before KIA dealers wanted a piece of the action. So we get this asstarded, gaudy Jag knockoff that seems to have forgotten the lessons Hyundai painstaking learned with the Equus and Genesis by providing high-level understated luxury... At best this thing will take away sales from Hyundai's luxury brand, at worst everyone will realize that Hyundai makes the same damn car, just much better looking...

    • See 1 previous
    • Bd2 Bd2 on Mar 01, 2014

      Hmmm - seems like what Toyota did with Lexus and the LS (esp. since the LS430 was what got Bruno Sacco, the then head of design at Mercedes all riled up).

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