The US is the most important automobile market for South Korean carmakers.

Hyundai plans to launch the Palisade, named after the Pacific Palisades, an affluent and beautiful neighborhood in southern California, in the US market in the summer of 2019.

Hyundai expects the addition of the Palisade to its SUV lineup, currently composed of the Kona subcompact, Tucson and Santa Fe, will help improve sales across the board.

The Hyundai Palisade ships with a 2.2-liter diesel engine or a 3.8-liter gasoline engine. It is equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

The all-wheel-drive and three-row SUV boasts spacious eight-passenger seating with high-end materials; advanced convenience and safety features in the cabin; and ample cargo space for leisure activities.

The Palisade will go on sale in South Korea next month and it will replace the Veracruz, a large crossover that sat atop Hyundai's SUV lineup and has been out of production since 2015.

Kia plans to introduce the new Soul multi-purpose vehicle and its electric version, Soul EV, in the domestic and overseas markets in the first quarter of 2019, the statement said.

In North America, the Soul will either be mated with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and a seven-speed transmission or a 2.0-liter gasoline engine and a six-speed automatic transmission, it said.

Powertrains of the Soul model to be launched domestically have yet to be decided, a company spokesman said.

Hyundai and Kia, which are the flagships of the world's fifth-biggest carmaker, are behind their rivals in exploiting the consumer demand for SUVs.

They aim to sell a combined 7.55 million vehicles this year, up 4.1 percent from the 7.25 million they sold last year. But analysts say they will probably be unable to achieve the annual sales target due to weak sales in the US and Chinese markets. (Yonhap)