Kia Motors China JV Launches New Passenger Car Model

SEOUL -December 2, 2002; Dow Jones reported that Kia Motors Corp. , South Korea's second-largest automobile producer, said its Chinese joint venture Monday launched a new passenger car model that will be manufactured and sold in China.

Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motor Co., in which Kia has a 50% stake, developed the new model solely for consumers in China, Kia Motors said in a statement. China's Dongfeng Automobile and Yueda own a 25% stake each in the joint venture.

The new car, named Qianlima after a legendary fine horse, will come in two sizes targeting China's small- and medium-sized car markets.

Only the bigger 1.6-liter engine model was unveiled Monday. Dongfeng Yueda Kia will begin production of the smaller 1.3-liter model from July, according to Kia Motors.

The joint venture expects to sell 1,800 units of Qianlima in December and aims to sell 40,000 units next year.

It also plans to sell next year 10,000 units of Pride, a small-car model already on sale in China.

With the sales of the two cars, Dongfeng Yueda Kia expects to have a 5% share of China's passenger car market next year, Kia Motors said.

Dongfeng Yueda Kia currently has production capacity of 50,000 units a year.