There was a time when the mention of Kia drew chuckles and sideways glances from people in and out of the industry. How times have changed, right? These days, Kia and sister company Hyundai make up the Hyundai Motor Group, the second largest automaker in Asia behind Toyota and the fourth largest in the world. Kia’s status in the industry has grown to the point that nobody is laughing about its plans to launch its first sports sedan to take on the BMW 3 Series.
According to Reuters, the model, codenamed “CK,” is being targeted for a May 2017 launch and will compete against the 3 Series and the Audi A5. Kia reportedly plans to build 60,000 units of the model per year and will feature a host of engine options, including a 2.0-liter, 2.2-liter, and 3.0-liter. The company itself has made no announcements on this reported plan, but it’s likely that the company is just waiting for the right time before making it official.
A new sports sedan certainly fits into Kia’s strategy of moving up to bigger and sportier markets. It makes sense for the company to have a model that would seamlessly fit into a market that has no shortage of options available for discerning customers.
The CK is expected to be smaller than the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, so it could actually fall into the compact sports sedan segment. Whatever segment it ends up in, Kia is reportedly keen on developing the sports car to replicate the success it had with the Kia Soul. That would entail putting a premium on the car’s design to make it fresh and attractive. It’s unclear if the company plans to use some of its recent sports sedan concepts – the GT and the Novo – as launching points for the development of this new model, but with the mostly positive reviews both prototypes received when they were launched, it would make sense for the automaker to at least look in those directions for inspiration.
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