Wanting to create a more sporty image, Kia plans to enter a new segment for the very first early next year.
Internally dubbed the CK, it will be a sports sedan that will attempt to pull buyers away from the BMW 4-Series and Audi A5.
Details are, understandably, non-existent. However, it could be offered with 2.0-liter, 2.2-liter and 3.0-liter engines and be made at the automaker’s factory near Seoul, South Korea when production of the Rio subcompact moves to Mexico as scheduled. Production, according to Reuters, will commence in May 2017.
The Korean brand is supposed to reinvent itself as sporty brand and Hyundai, which owns a 34 per cent stake in Kia, move upmarket with the Genesis luxury brand so as not to compete against each other.
The thinking behind this project is for this sports sedan to mimic the success of the Soul hatchback, which made the company more appealing to a younger generation.
Aalysis manager at consultancy AutoPacific, Dave Sullivan, explained: “Kia hit a home run with the Soul – they figured out how to keep it fresh and fun. Apply this formula to a rear-wheel drive sedan and they might be able to go after a younger consumer who is bored with the played-out BMW 3-Series, but wants to move out of their Soul they have had since college.”
Note: Kia Novo Concept pictured
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