Kia Motors, the sister company of Hyundai Motor, released its fully changed sedan K3 on Tuesday, highlighting its increased fuel efficiency.

The first fully change model in six years has a 1.6-liter gasoline engine and a fuel economy of 15.2 kilometers per liter, a 10 percent increase from its previous model.

Kia spent five years developing the next-generation power train, named SmartStream, to increase fuel efficiency and performance and reduce emission. Combined with intelligent variable transmission, the sedan was certified with fuel efficiency of 15.2 kilometer per liter, on par with a compact car.

The carmaker aims to sell 150,000 units of all-new K3 globally this year. It aims to sell 50,000 units of these in the domestic market and the rest abroad.

Named Forte or Cerato in overseas, the company hopes to increase global sales by 250,000 units next year.

Kia has sold 2 million K3 units globally since its launch in 2012.

The sedan is equipped with such safety features as front collision avoidance, blind-spot collision warnings and driver attention warning systems, the company said.

The price range of the K3 starts at 16 million won ($14,700).

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)