Kia hopes to bolster sales as new Forte released in China

Kia Motors announced on Wednesday that it has released the new Forte in China.

The new Forte, which goes by “Fu-rui-di,” was officially launched in China on Tuesday, local time. The car comes with a number of driver-friendly options including connectivity services that the Korean auto company developed in partnership with Baidu, a Chinese tech giant. Services include “Baidu MapAuto,” a navigation system, and “Duer OS Auto,” an artificially intelligent voice recognition agent.

The release of the new Forte with options tailor-made for Chinese consumers is seen as an attempt by Kia to jump-start its sales in China, which have seen a steady decline this year.

During the first nine months of this year, Kia’s sales there fell nearly by half compared to the same period a year before. The Forte is one of the most popular Kia models in China.

By Choi Hyung-jo