Kia Forte debuts in Shanghai before China sale

Shanghai, April 29 (Gasgoo.com) The latest Kia Forte sedan (Furuidi in Chinese) made its Chinese debut at the 2009 Shanghai auto show. Kia Motors' Chinese venture Donfeng Yueda Kia (DYK) will release the locally-made C-segment sedan Kia Forte to the Chinese market later this year, said sina.com today.

Along with the Kia Forte, the Soul Hybrid car of the Korean carmaker also debuted at the 9-day Shanghai show that ended yesterday. The Kia Forte vehicle that will drive in to the Chinese market is developed and made by DYK's plant located in Jiangsu province. The company plans to put the Forte on sale along with the all-new Cerato that is touted as a popular vehicle, also locally built.

Kia Motors hopes to boost sales of its cars in China by introducing the two or more all-new models. Kia Forte is the new generation model of Kia Cerato (Kia Spectra in North America). The new four-door sedan will come to the Chinese market with a 2-liter gasoline or locally made 1.6-liter gasoline engine, featuring a manual or automatic transmission.

The new Kia Forte will rival Suzuki Tianyu SX4-Sport. The locally-made Kia Soul is expected to hit the China market by the end of next year at a price about 100,000 yuan ($14,650). DYK is also likely to produce the upgraded Kia Optima car this year.

Kia entered the China market in 2002 through the joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp. A lot of Kia models have been introduced to China for local production. The venture opened a second manufacturing facility in early 2008.