Kia Stinger is a car no one expected to ever exist, let alone be genuinely good. Just a few years ago, the thought of Kia—then the off-brand, low-cost alternative to Hyundai in many consumers' minds—building a rear-wheel-drive sport sedan capable of hanging with BMWs and Audis was unfathomable. Yet here we are in 2020, and you can buy that very car, the Stinger, right now. The problem is (or part of it, anyway) not enough people are doing that—and that paucity of sales could lead to the next-gen Stinger being cancelled, according to one report.

Citing no sources, Korean Car Blog claims Kia's parent company Hyundai Motor Group could give the next-gen Stinger the axe. (The updated car is presumed to be in the works.) The main driving force behind the rumor is the current global health crisis and its unquestionably adverse effect on the South Korean automaker's global sales. The blog speculates that all car companies, not just Hyundai, will be forced to focus on the best-selling and most profitable models in their lineups moving forward.The Kia Stinger may be a hot sport sedan (okay, hatch—its fastback tail includes a large liftgate), but it most certainly isn't a hot seller. Through March, Kia has sold 2,560 Stingers so far in 2020, down from 3,227 units the same period last year. Given the stay-at-home orders in place in many states, that number is unlikely to change much by the end of April. A total of 13,861 Stingers were sold in all of 2019, down from 16,806 in 2018, the model's first full year on sale. Those declining sales figures alone might not spell doom for a low-volume car like the Stinger, but there's another reason the company is considering killing it, according to Korean Car Blog.

The Kia Stinger comes dangerously close to its upmarket corporate cousin and platform-mate, the Genesis G70. Both cars are built on a rear-drive architecture evolved from the outgoing Genesis G80's platform, but the G70 is shorter overall with a shorter wheelbase. Both also offer a base 2.0-liter turbo-four good for 255 horsepower, an optional twin-turbo 3.3-liter V-6 making 365 horsepower, and available all-wheel drive. With less than $5,000 separating their starting prices, it's easy to see how the Stinger might step on the G70's toes. Whether the Stinger is cannibalizing G70 sales or vice-versa, only Hyundai knows for sure. But even if there is too much overlap between the two, the Kia Stinger won't be exterminated anytime soon. We know a refreshed model is coming for 2021.

Will the incredibly fun-to-drive Kia Stinger live to see an all-new, totally updated second generation? A Kia spokesperson declined to comment on the report, as the company does not comment on its future product plans, but did say, "The Stinger is an important component of the Kia brand and remains a halo vehicle in the U.S. lineup." We'll have to wait and see if that's still the case a few years down the line when the Stinger is close to the end of its life cycle.