The Kia Motors China joint venture, Donfeng Yueda Kia, has launched the C-segment Forte (Cerato in some markets) at the Nanjing International Expo Centre.

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The local model will be sold under the name Fu-Rui-Di, which combines the Chinese characters for luck, auspiciousness and advance. The name alludes to a car designed for those who lead the road to success, according to Kia. Its pronunciation is also similar to the English name Forte.


The Forte will target the high-end C-segment market in China and was originally unveiled at the Shanghai motor show last April.


The model will be produced locally at one of two jointly owned plants in Jiangsu province and sold alongside the (also locally produced) current generation Cerato.


Kia posted 13.5% growth year on year to the end of May in China.

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Changes to suit local preferences include chrome finish for the centre fascia and main switches and high-lustre metal grain trim inserts.
 
The Forte is Kia’s first Chinese model with an economy driving display, responding to the growing interest among local drivers for fuel-efficient vehicles.  The model also has keyless ignition and cruise control and has been ‘localised’ to the point where information on the instrument cluster and audio screen is displayed in Chinese, instead of English.


The Chinese Forte offers a choice of 1.6 litre ‘Gamma’ or two litre ‘Theta’ petrol engines – most rivals offer 1.6 or 1.8 litre engines. This, Kia said, makes the Forte the most powerful model among competitors, including the Volkswagen Jetta, Buick Excelle, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Tiida.


Kia said it plans to establish itself as an affordable premium automaker and a leading brand in China and plans to hold large-scale road shows and test drives in major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, to promote the new car.
 
Exclusive showrooms will be set up in all dealerships to display the car and an advertisement featuring Lin Dan, the gold medalist in badminton at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will be aired nationwide.


Old and new to be sold alongside each other