Kia preparing to flood the Australian market with SUVs

What are the most popular vehicle types these days? Don't stress guessing as the answer is SUV, SUV, and SUV. As more and more people now prefer buying an SUV or a crossover, be it mini SUVs, compact SUVs, mid-size SUVs, or the full-blown SUVs, the automakers from around the globe are following the suite and rolling out as many SUVs and crossovers out of the production lines as possible. Similarly, Kia has also picked up the baton and instructed its folks to channel all the resources in developing and unleashing more and more SUVs and crossovers.

Kia is sponsoring the Australian Open tennis tournament, and a press conference transpired alongside the event, during which, "We need more. We need probably one or two bigger ones, to be quite honest. That would help us dramatically", said Damien Meredith, Kia Australia's chief operating officer (COO). Interestingly enough, this comes after the South  Korean already having brought out the brand-new Seltos. Also, there are more in the line like the revisited Sorento and an un-named baby SUV.

In the coming times, we will see the Kia Stonic to sit below the likes of the Seltos, Sorento, and the Sportage. But, that's not all as Kia plans to introduce even more and bigger SUVs in the country. "There’s definitely room above Sorento, or even beside the Sorento, in a ladder-frame form", said Roland Rivero, Kia Australia's product general manager.

However, the other upcoming model/models remain unknown for now as Kia Motors Australia is preferring to remain tight-lipped about the development. "KMAu has no comment to make on that issue whatsoever. As soon as anything is available, we’ll let you guys know, for sure, but there is no need to comment on something that doesn’t exist at this stage", said Kevin Hepworth. Moving on, the other SUV could eventually be a large-sized full chassis-based vehicle with off-road credentials and good towing capacity, as said by Meredith in the past.

Considering the same, the American Telluride powered by a 3.8-litre petrol-fed V6 might make a good case. However, the SUV is a left-hand-drive model only and features a monocoque platform. But, Kia might just make an effort and bring in the SUV as its sister Hyundai has done with the Palisade, which will be launched in the country by the end of 2020. And, with an SUV of such a big size and caliber, it is easy to say that the Toyota Prado will witness a brand-new rival standing against it down under.

Also read: Kia Stonic to arrive in Australia by late 2020