Photo: Kia
It’s not long now until the next facelift for the Kia Sportage hits the market, promising a refreshed view to one of the world’s original SUVs. Until that moment, Kia announced on Monday that one of its longest-living models in the lineup has reached a milestone.
Since its introduction in 1993, and on the year of its 25th anniversary, the 5 millionth Sportage was sold. Twenty-five percent of that number, meaning one million cars, were delivereed to customers in the past two and a half years alone, after the fourth generation of the model was launched.
The good performance of the latest generation is largely due to an increased interest of the global consumers in SUVs.
According to a report pulbished earlier this year by JATO Dynamics, of the over 86 million cars sold worldwide in 2017, 34 percent were SUVs. That represents the biggest percentage ever achieved in this segment of the automotive industry.
For Kia, this increase in appeal for the utilities meant that the Sportage surpassed the B-segment Rio as the brand’s global best-selling model in both 2016 and 2018. Of the four generations of the model, the fourth is the most successful, Kia says.
“We are extremely proud to have achieved this milestone production figure for our global best-seller,” said in a statement Ho Sung Song, Kia’s global operations head.
“The continued and accelerating popularity of the Sportage demonstrates the breadth of the car’s abilities and the strength of its appeal to buyers in markets all around the world.”
As for the facelift, it might be offered with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system currently under development, as well as with a new 1.4 turbocharged engine that will replace the 1.6 GDI.
Kia expects that both the current generation, launched in 2016, and the facelift to be introduced later this year will continue the trend set in the past two years.
The good performance of the latest generation is largely due to an increased interest of the global consumers in SUVs.
According to a report pulbished earlier this year by JATO Dynamics, of the over 86 million cars sold worldwide in 2017, 34 percent were SUVs. That represents the biggest percentage ever achieved in this segment of the automotive industry.
For Kia, this increase in appeal for the utilities meant that the Sportage surpassed the B-segment Rio as the brand’s global best-selling model in both 2016 and 2018. Of the four generations of the model, the fourth is the most successful, Kia says.
“We are extremely proud to have achieved this milestone production figure for our global best-seller,” said in a statement Ho Sung Song, Kia’s global operations head.
“The continued and accelerating popularity of the Sportage demonstrates the breadth of the car’s abilities and the strength of its appeal to buyers in markets all around the world.”
As for the facelift, it might be offered with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system currently under development, as well as with a new 1.4 turbocharged engine that will replace the 1.6 GDI.
Kia expects that both the current generation, launched in 2016, and the facelift to be introduced later this year will continue the trend set in the past two years.
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