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A few days ago, the official map of Kia K5 was officially released. As a medium-term revamped model, the appearance and interior of the new car have been readjusted, and the new car is now open to order in the South Korean market, such as the domestic version, which may go on sale next year.

In terms of appearance, the new car basically uses the cash model design style, but the details are redesigned to make the whole more simple and fashionable. The front face of the new car is designed with a slender borderless tiger howling grille, the headlamp group is redesigned, the irregular LED daylight shape is more personalized, and the internal LED lamp group is designed with a flat design. The front encirclement also uses a new style, with enlarged size and large vents to further highlight the movement of the front face.

On the side of the body, the new car is basically consistent with the current model, using slip-back shape and blackened window frame to create a dynamic posture in the visual effect. The change of the new car lies in the use of a new style of multi-spoke two-color rims, which looks more advanced. The change in the rear part is more obvious, the new car cancels the breakpoint taillight design of the current model, and is replaced by a newly designed through-through LED light belt, and presents an eye-catching bifurcation structure at the end of the taillight, and integrates smoked elements, the visual effect is quite moving. The rear surround at the bottom has also been slightly adjusted, which is more three-dimensional than the cash model, and the exhaust is a hidden layout.

The interior part is the place where the new car takes on a new look. In the car, the screens of split type and large frame of the current model are cancelled and replaced by the popular suspended double screen, which looks more concise as a whole, and the air conditioning outlet above is also changed to a hidden design. while the air conditioning control panel moved up to the central air outlet, the overall sense is stronger, in addition, the new car also uses a knob shift mechanism, and increases the fingerprint sensor, the sense of technology is good.

In terms of power, the new car will provide 2.0L naturally aspirated engine (160hp), 1.6T engine (180hp), 2.0LPI LPG engine (146hp) and 2.0L hybrid power (152hp, motor 38.6kW) in the Korean market.

In the automobile circle, there is a saying that "losers have three treasures, Suoba, K5, and Malibao". At that time, these three models were popular all over the country and were the three models with good sales in the B-class car market, but today, the title of "three treasures of losers" has been gradually forgotten.

Among them, Kia K5 officially launched in March 2011, a total of seven models, the price range is 15.98-249800 yuan, the body size is 4845/1830/1460mm, the power is equipped with 2.0L and 2.4L naturally aspirated engines, the maximum horsepower is 165Ps and 179Ps, and the peak torque is 198N ·m and 231N ·m. According to the data of wholesale passenger car sales in a narrow sense, from 2011 to 2014, Kia K5 sales were 34220, 52745, 56377 and 55474 respectively, with more than 50, 000 vehicles sold for three consecutive years, but the Asian K5 sales began to decline in 2015. This year's sales were 38316.

The Asian K5 was replaced for the first time in 2016, when the price range was 19.98-248800 yuan. As a replacement model, the appearance design of the new car has not changed much, but the power has been upgraded. the whole system is equipped with three power options of 1.6T, 2.0T and 2.0L, 1.6T matches seven-speed double clutch transmission, and 2.0T and 2.0L match six-gear manual self-integrated gearbox. Among them, the 2.0T model has the largest horsepower 245Ps, which directly competes with the three major Japanese cars, Accord, Camry and Teana. But this year, Kia K5 sales did not improve. Narrow passenger car wholesale sales data show that Asian K5 sales have been 34623 since 2016, and have also declined in the following three years, to 27864 and 10825 respectively from 2017 to 2018, and directly lost their former glory in 2019. Sales plummeted to 2121.

When the third generation of Kia K5 was released in September 2020, great changes have taken place in both the naming and appearance design of this generation of models. It is named Kia K5 Kaiku at home, and it is also uniformly known as Kia K5 (formerly known as OPTIMA) abroad. The price is 16.18-205800 yuan. Compared with the previous generation of models, the price has dropped significantly, and the body size has reached 4980/1860/1455mm. Compared with the same level of competitor Accord and Camry, it has more advantages. The power is equipped with 2.0T and 1.5T engines, in which 2.0T engine matches 8AT gearbox, maximum horsepower 240Ps, maximum torque 353N ·m 1.5T engine matches 7DCT double clutch transmission, maximum horsepower 170Ps, maximum torque 253N ·m.

It is also from this generation of models that Kia K5 sales have returned to the level of 10,000 vehicles, with cumulative sales of 17547 vehicles in 2020. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. With the increase of domestic similar car models, Kia K5 Kaiku's market share was also diluted, and sales declined again in 2021-2022, including 10561 in 2021 and nearly halved in 2022, leaving only 6460.

With the rise of domestic independent brands and the decline of the prices of mainstream joint venture brands, brands that focus on low-price models, including Kia and Hyundai, have been gradually marginalized. The industry believes that the main reason for Korean car companies' low sense of existence in China is that they have failed to keep up with the changes in the pace of the market, and the process of localization is slow, while Korean cars are relatively passive in the field of electric vehicles.

According to the official website, Kia is currently on sale in China, including Zhirun, K3, K5, Huanchi, Jiahua and other full-product passenger cars covering sedans, SUV and MPV, but the performance of the model market is very mediocre, and Kia urgently needs to launch more competitive products. Retail sales show that from January to September in 2023, Yueda Kia sold 61681 vehicles, of which Freddy sold the highest 20057, followed by Zhirun and Lion Platinum, with 9126 and 6964 respectively, while Kia K5 Kaiku only 2637.

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