Kia to Launch Sportage LPG Within This Year

Liquefied Petroleum Gas Model
Certified for Emissions and Noise
Pilot Production Started Early This Year at Gwangju Plant

Kia New Sportage

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Kia has decided to launch an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) model of its mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Sportage, within this year.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Research's vehicle emission and noise certification system on the 8th, the Sportage LPG model (model name LPi) received certification for emissions and noise the day before. The Gwangju plant has already started pilot production earlier this year. A company official said, "The exact date is under internal review, but we plan to launch it in the second half of this year."

With the release of the Sportage LPG model, it will become the second SUV to use LPG following Renault Korea Motors' QM6 (model name LPe). The Sportage LPG uses a 2-liter LPG engine found in the mid-size sedan K5, producing 146 horsepower. This is similar to the QM6's 140 horsepower.

For Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, this means they will have an LPG lineup across all vehicle types, including sedans, vans, small trucks, and now SUVs. Currently, their LPG models include sedans such as the Avante, Sonata, and Grandeur (Hyundai), and the K5 and K8 (Kia). The van Staria and 1-ton truck Bongo also have LPG versions. Since LPG fuel tanks are relatively large, LPG is more practical for larger vehicles than sedans.

LPG vehicles have the advantage of relatively low maintenance costs, which is why they are widely used for commercial purposes such as taxis. They also emit less carbon compared to gasoline and diesel vehicles. However, recently, electric vehicles and hybrids using motors have gained more attention, leading to a decline in LPG vehicle sales. According to Kaizyu Data, the number of newly registered LPG vehicles in South Korea in the first half of this year was 37,389, a decrease of about 33% compared to the first half of last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.