Kia has followed its parent Hyundai Motor and lowered the prices of some models in South Korea following an increase in consumption tax.

Hyundai cut the price of some of its models last week and Kia said it would now offer 2013 K9 models for less in a bid to raise competitiveness against increasing competition from foreign brands.

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The company has just launched an upgraded K9 and its flagship sedan now includes a head-up display as a basic feature and can be purchased for up to KRW2.91m (US$2,740) less than the 2012 model.

Kia has also reduced the number of trims available for the K9 as customers complained of being confused by the array of packages and options on offer.

The company said: “Despite adding some new features, we cut the price so customers can have more benefits. We’re trying to gain a pricing advantage against luxury imported cars.”

Kia sold 7,599 K9s last year following the new line’s launch in May. Although it targeted monthly sales of 2,000 units, the actual figure has hovered between 500 and 700 in each of the past three months.

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The brand has also cut the retail price of its K5 2.0 Prestige midsize sedan and the Sorento R SUV.

Hyundai lowered the prices of its Sonata, Genesis, Genesis Coupe, Santa Fe and Veracruz vehicles last week in line with group chairman Chung Mong-koo’s New Year message which emphasised making changes to stabilise the company’s operations.

It has been slowly losing domestic market share to foreign rivals even though overseas sales have been climbing.

Hyundai and Kia’s combined domestic sales reached 1.14m last year, a 2% decrease over 2011. Sales of imported cars jumped 24.6% over the same period to a record 130,858 units.