The company’s new Stonic crossover will make its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September. The Stonic will rival Nissan’s Juke and will be similar to Hyundai’s Kona, which will also be revealed at Frankfurt.
What’s visible from the sketches is the Stonic's chunky look and its intricate rear light clusters. The front-end looks far removed from the Sportage, and Kia claims that the car offers a level of customisation options unprecedented on any Kia model before it, on both the outside and the inside.
The Stonic could share engines with the Rio, considering the two cars also share platforms. This implies that a 1.0-litre three-cylinder, 1.25-litre and 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engines, and a 1.4-litre diesel for higher-end cars will be part of the engine line-up. This car most likely won't feature four-wheel drive.
After contemplating an entry into India for several years, Kia Motors, recently announced its plans to enter our burgeoning car market. The company will build a manufacturing facility with an annual capacity of 3,00,000 units in Andhra Pradesh starting later this year. An MoU with the state government for the construction of the greenfield plant has already been signed.