The Kia Seltos was recently confirmed for the U.S. market but consumers in Europe won’t be following suit and won’t get the South Korean car manufacturer’s latest SUV.
During a recent interview with The Korean Car Blog, Kia Motors Europe chief executive Emilio Herrera said that the Seltos had not been developed with Europe in mind.
“The new Kia Seltos has not been developed for Europe,” he said responding to a question about whether it would be sold in the Old Continent. “It is a major success in the U.S., but since we already have very successful Sportage and Sorento SUVs in Europe, we don’t see a need for launching the Seltos here. We are very lucky that we have such a broad, new and complete range of products.”
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While the Kia Seltos won’t find its way to Europe, it does have the potential of selling quite well in countries including Australia and the States. In the U.S., the SUV will be sold with two engine options. The first is a naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 146 hp and 132 lb-ft (178 Nm) of torque that’s paired to a CVT while the second is a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder delivering 175 hp and 195 lb-ft (264 Nm) of torque. This model is sold exclusively with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
In the U.S., the Seltos competes against the likes of the Ford EcoSport, Jeep Compass, and Nissan Rogue Sport. Considering the features it comes laden with and its attractive price that starts below $22,000, it has the potential to be quite a hit.
