AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/03 Report--

On April 3, Kia announced that its small SUV-- Kia Seltos was officially named "Setus".

Kia Seatus is a medium-term revamped model of Kia Pride, a small SUV owned by Dongfeng Yueda Kia, which announced its Chinese name "Aoba" in January 2015 and went on sale domestically in March 2015 with a price range of 11.28-186800 yuan. In terms of power, Kia proudly runs to provide three kinds of power for 1.6L/1.6T/2.0L. In 2019, the new generation of proud running officially launched, with a guide price range of 10.88-125800 yuan, providing only 1.5L power configuration, maximum power of 115hp, peak torque of 144N ·m, matched with a six-speed manual or CVT continuously variable transmission.

Cash on sale Kia KX3 proudly listed in May 2021, the price range is 10.88-136800 yuan, but in view of Dongfeng Yueda Kia no longer exists, coupled with the new strategic layout of Kia China, Kia Seltos will adopt a new Chinese name, "Satus" is a literal translation from Seltos. Officials say that since Kia has renovated its brand around the world, it has not only adopted a new LOGO, but also unified its product naming globally. Among them, Kia electric models are all named as "EV+ numbers"; SUV models in fuel vehicles are all named with the letter "S". In the face of the Chinese market, a transliterated Chinese name will be added to facilitate Chinese consumers to better understand.

Seatus can be directly regarded as a mid-term modified model of proud running, with a brand-new design language on the front face and a double-layer middle grid design. At the same time, the newly designed LED daytime driving lights are also integrated with the front grille and the grille, and the recognition is very high after lighting. In addition, the design of the front enclosure of the new car has also changed, with more fashionable decoration of the ventilation openings on both sides, a longitudinal layout of LED daytime driving lights inside, and a silver front lip guard plate in the middle of the ventilation and cooling duct, which makes the new car look more stable.

From the side, the overall shape is basically the same as the current model, but the design is more complex rims, and the rising window lines also create a visual effect of diving forward. In the rear part, the taillight group adopts the popular fumigation + penetration design, and the irregular shape of the taillight group on both sides makes the new car more recognizable.

In terms of interior decoration, the new car still adopts a symmetrical layout, the center console is equipped with a double screen design with a full liquid crystal dashboard connected with the central control multimedia display screen, and the shape of the air conditioning control panel area in the center of the center console is also slightly adjusted. With the three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, as well as the atmosphere lights in the car, the details highlight a good scientific and technological atmosphere inside the new car. However, according to espionage photos, the new domestic KX3 uses the same mechanical knob as the American version of Seltos, while the Korean version is knob style.

In terms of power, the new car will be equipped with two 1.6T/2.0L gasoline engines and a 1.6T diesel engine with maximum power of 177hp, 149hp and 136hp, respectively. In terms of transmission, the new car will provide CVT continuously variable transmission, 6-speed manual integrated transmission and 7-speed double clutch transmission in different regional markets.

According to the number of new car compulsory insurance purchases, Asia's sales in China since 2022 were 94345, down 40.5% from the same period last year, of which Kia was 14666, down 46.04% from the same period last year. According to Kia's plan, it will stop producing models of less than 100000 yuan one after another, and it is expected that the market price of Yasetus will be slightly higher than that of Kia Pride.

According to the 2022 results released by South Korea's Kia Company, in the financial information of joint ventures and associated enterprises for the year ended December 31, Jiangsu Yueda Kia Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture in China, has total liabilities of 2.4768 trillion won (about 13 billion yuan) and assets of 2.0809 trillion won (about 10.9 billion yuan). According to this calculation, Jiangsu Yueda Kia is insolvent, with an asset-liability ratio of 119.0%.

South Korea's Kia has been in China for 20 years, from high speed to stall has witnessed the development of China's auto market, but with the intensification of competition in the future, Kia must regain the Chinese auto market.

On March 20, Kia China officially announced its blueprint for accelerating the transition to electrification. At the conference, Kia will unveil China's medium-and long-term new energy strategy and unveil three new electric models, the EV5 concept car, the EV9 concept car and the EV6GT, of which the EV5 will be launched in November, which will be Kia's first global model produced in China and debuted.

According to the plan, from 2023, Kia will launch at least one pure electric vehicle a year based on the electrified global modular platform E-GMP; by 2027, it will launch a total of six EV models; and by 2030, it will achieve the annual sales target of 180000 EV models, accounting for 40 per cent of sales.

Song Husheng, president of Kia Co., Ltd., said that the company will launch a compact pure electric SUV "EV5" aimed at the Chinese market, saying that he firmly believes that the new car will achieve good results in China. With regard to the bitter battle facing Hyundai and Kia in China, Song Husheng stressed that the company plans to be fully prepared to launch electric cars in China in the next two years. When asked about the response of EV5 in the Chinese market, Song Husheng said that Kia Guan Xuan will launch new electric models in China every year, which has aroused enthusiastic response from local media and sellers, and believes that the company will have an excellent performance.

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