New Kia Crossover Coming in 2019 Based on SP Concept
A new Kia subcompact crossover will arrive in the US next year, the Korean automaker has revealed.
Speaking to Automotive News, Kia CEO Han-Woo Park said the automaker has plans to bring a new subcompact crossover to the US based on the SP Concept that it showed in India earlier this year. The production SP Concept will reportedly be called the Kia Tusker in India, although it’s not clear if it will have the same name in the US. The automaker described the concept as a tech-forward vehicle aimed at young people when it first debuted it in India.
The new subcompact crossover will join a growing range of Kia crossovers when it lands in 2019. The automaker recently rolled out the Niro and Niro EV and also has plans to introduce a new Soul and Soul EV. The large three-row Kia Telluride will also go on sale in the spring of next year.
SEE ALSO: New 2020 Kia Telluride 3-Row SUV Debuts Looking Big and Boxy
Kia is banking on its new crossovers to boost sales. According to data obtained by AN, Kia’s US sales were down 1.3 percent as of September 2018, while the rest of the market has experienced a 0.5% growth. Its sister company Hyundai s also going big on crossovers, rolling out the new Kona compact crossover this year along with the Kona EV, the new Santa Fe, an updated Tuscon and the hydrogen fuel cell Nexo.
Look for the production-ready SP Concept to debut later this year or early next year before going on sale alongside the full-size Telluride in mid-2019.
[Source: Automotive News]
Discuss this story on our Kia Forum.
Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
More by Sam McEachern
Comments
Join the conversation
To all Automakers, please STOP bringing sub-compact CUVs, or whatever they are called, to the US/North American market; we don't need them. Instead, I implore you to develop AWD hatchbacks, wagons, and sedans (of current offerings) and expand your showroom that way. Also, include more manual transmissions across the board and encourage the act of driving by making the cars more fun and engaging to drive. I would much rather have an AWD Soul +/! than the "lump" pictured above. Of course an Optima S/EX/SX Wagon w/6spd manual would be my 1st choice (if it existed). The "SP" might be fine for India, but don't flood our market w/another (useless) Nissan Kicks-paperweight that isn't good at anything and performs worse than the larger vehicles above it. Cars can have AWD too; it doesn't always have to be a 'utility-inspired" vehicle. You (KIA) made an AWD Stinger, so why not an AWD Optima or Forte/Forte5?
I think it looks great, like a little Land Rover; not that production vehicles ever look like the concepts. The buying public will decide if we need it, of course. Tusker is a nonstarter, though, since we don't have any elephants outside of zoos.