Kia Motors rolls out Forte hybrid car

Kia Motors rolls out Forte hybrid car Kia Motors Corp. launched its first hybrid car in South Korea Wednesday, following a belated foray into the growing market by its parent Hyundai Motor Co. in a bid to catch up with its Japanese rivals, Yonhap News said. The Forte Hybrid LPI, a hybrid version of Kia's Forte compact car, is powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and an electric motor with lithium ion polymer batteries. LPG is readily available at many stations throughout South Korea, but a lack of supply in foreign markets means Kia has no plans to sell the new model overseas in the immediate future.

"We do not have any particular plans to release the Forte Hybrid LPI overseas at this stage," a Kia official said. The carmaker said it aims to sell 2,000 units of the Forte Hybrid LPI by the end of this year.Equipped with a 1.6-liter engine, the new model is priced from 20.54 million won ($15,978) to 23.35 million won, depending on features. It runs on an average 17.8km per liter.Kia said it took 25 months and cost the company 240 billion won to develop the hybrid Forte.