SEOUL, June 18 — Kia Corp. (000270.KS) has told workers it will halt production of the Granbird, its only large-bus model, within one to two years once its existing order backlog is exhausted — closing a chapter of Korean industrial history that stretches back six decades to predecessor Asia Motors.
Company representatives disclosed the plan on June 17 during a labor-management employment stability committee meeting at Kia's Gwangju AutoLand plant. The move would consolidate Hyundai Motor Group's large-coach production entirely under Hyundai Motor, which already markets the Elec City battery-electric and Elec City Fuel Cell hydrogen models.
A 60-Year Legacy Running Dry
The Granbird, launched in 1994 as a diesel-powered touring and intercity coach, is Kia's last surviving bus. Domestic deliveries have stagnated at roughly 1,300–1,400 units a year over the past several years; production in 2025 reached 1,403 units. For a platform that requires sustained engineering investment to meet tightening Euro and Korean emissions norms, that volume is well below the threshold for profitability.
Three forces converged to seal the Granbird's fate:
1. Demand erosion from high-speed rail. Korea's expanding KTX network has steadily eroded the intercity passenger pool that once filled charter and express-bus fleets, leaving the domestic large-coach segment in a structural decline.
2. Chinese electric bus competition. Low-cost electric coaches from Chinese manufacturers have taken a growing share of Korean municipal and school-bus fleets — markets where the diesel-powered Granbird cannot compete on either price or increasingly mandatory green credentials.
3. Regulation-driven cost pressure. Stricter emissions standards have raised the development bill for any next-generation internal-combustion bus. Kia judged the investment unjustifiable for a product selling fewer than 1,500 units a year.
Kia Pivots to Purpose-Built Vehicles
With the Granbird winding down, Kia will redirect engineering capacity toward its PBV (purpose-built vehicle) lineup — the PV Series — targeting last-mile delivery, logistics and passenger-shuttle applications where electric powertrains align with its broader EV strategy. The pivot marks a cleaner separation within Hyundai Motor Group: Hyundai holds the bus franchise; Kia owns the PBV future.
Union Suspends Negotiations
Kia's Gwangju branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union responded immediately, suspending all labor-management consultations. The branch called any halt "unacceptable without concrete measures to protect jobs," and demanded employment guarantees and a long-term operating plan for both the Gwangju AutoLand and Hanam (Gyeonggi Province) facilities before it returns to the table. Workers at both sites are exposed directly to the discontinuation.
Industry Implications
The exit leaves Hyundai Motor as the sole domestic producer of large coaches in Korea. For public transit operators and private charter companies that have long balanced orders between the two brands, the consolidation removes a competitive check on pricing and delivery lead times. Industry analysts say the move will also accelerate pressure on Korean bus fleet operators to consider Chinese electric alternatives, which now offer a wider model range and shorter delivery windows.
Sources: - Kia set to exit large bus business — Korea Herald (June 18, 2026) - Kia Exits Bus Business After 60 Years — Seoul Economic Daily (June 17, 2026) - 기아, 대형 버스 생산 중단 공식화 — Money Today (June 17, 2026) - 기아, 대형버스 사업 철수 추진 — Newspim (June 17, 2026)
