2014 Kia Forte Debuting in L.A., Possible RWD Sedan Announcement at the Show

DETROIT – The all-new 2014 Kia Forte compact sedan will debut at the Los Angeles International Auto Show this November, and the automaker will follow up with seven new or refreshed models throughout 2013. That includes a “significantly refreshed” 2014 Sorento crossover at L.A. and advanced safety technology at Detroit next January, Kia Motors America marketing chief Michael Sprague told the Automotive Press Association meeting on Wednesday.

A photo of the 2014 Kia Forte sedan, flashed briefly at the APA meeting, showed a car evolving well into Peter Schreyer’s design language, probably more of a large Rio than small Optima. It will be a formidable competitor, especially for the soon-to-be-updated Honda Civic.

Typical of the South Korean brand, the safety technologies scheduled for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit are just beginning to trickle down from luxury and premium brands to commodity automakers. So Kia will be ahead of the curve with such technologies as lane-departure warning, lane-change assist, active cruise control and blind spot alert. The 2014 Sorento also will mark the debut of Kia’s Sync-like UVOe Services system.

“The next chapter begins with connectivity,” Sprague told the APA luncheon. He and Kia Motors America sales chief Tom Loveless said the seven-model calendar 2013 rollout will assure new models at every major auto show, including Chicago in February and New York in late March.

Loveless touted Kia’s progress in recent years, including exemplary Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) results, J.D. Power initial quality survey results [ninth of 22 non-premium brands], and sales growth.

Kia is “the fastest-growing mainstream brand in the U.S. since 2008,” Loveless said. Last year, it had 3.8 percent of the U.S. market, and this year, it’s on track for 4-percent market share. It has 24 straight months of sales growth, and has increased sales by 78 percent since ’08. Corporate partner Hyundai is second, at 61 percent.

When we asked whether Loveless foresees a point in which Kia catches its corporate partner, he declined to make a prediction. “We’re competitors,” he said.

At their respective rates of growth, it could happen. Kia sold 50,028 units in the U.S. for August, compared with 61,099 Hyundais. Loveless calls the inexpensive Soul its “flagship,” often its bestseller and always among its top three, along with the U.S.-built Optima and Sorento. Each topped more than 10,000 sales in August. The South Korean-built Soul remains in short supply here, and Loveless said Kia plans to add 10,000 units production to the U.S. supply. In the Q&A, he would not rule out shifting Soul production to North America, probably a second plant to accompany Kia’s Westport, Georgia, assembly plant. The refreshed European-spec Kia Sorento is shown at right.

Also from the Q&A, Sprague held out hope for the rear-drive sport sedan design chief Schreyer has shown as a concept a few times in the last three years. This isn’t the BMW 7 Series-size RWD K9 recently launched in the home market, but a four-door that would run on the shorter, Hyundai Genesis coupe wheelbase. Kia sees space in the “tweener” price range between the $40,000 top of the premium range and $45,000 beginning of the luxury range.

Kia will make an announcement about its entry into this space “later this year.” The RWD sport sedan? We hope so.

Finally, Sprague confirmed that Kia will remain an advertising force in Super Bowl XLVII next February, though it won’t be with commercials for its Soul, the successful U.S.-market hatchback that’s not a Mini or Toyota Prius.

There will be “no hamsters in the Super Bowl,” Sprague said.