Kia Motors made an official landing in Mexico on Tuesday, with 21 sales outlets and a soon-to-open manufacturing plant in the Central American state.

“Kia will establish a powerful sales network alongside competitive products and an effective marketing strategy in order to succeed in the Mexican market,” Oh Tae-hyun, vice president of Kia said at the launching ceremony held in Mexico City.

The sales will kick off in July, with K3 ― known as Forte there ― alongside sports utility vehicles Sportage and Sorento hitting the showrooms in major cities including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and others. The new Opitma will start sales in November.

The K3 will be shipped from Korea, while Sportage and Sorento will be exported from Kia’s European and U.S. plants, respectively.

As part of its marketing strategy, the company will give a seven-year or 150,000-kilometer warranty on the chassis and engine parts. It is also planning to expand its sales network to 65 stores by 2017.

According to Kia, the auto market in Mexico has been rising, but the relatively high 20-percent tariff prevented it from entering the market. However, the tariff was exempted after Korea’s second largest carmaker decided to establish a manufacturing plant in Monterrey, which will complete construction by end-June. The flagship compact sedan K3 will be manufactured there from early 2016, targeting the U.S., Canada and South American markets.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)