Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, said Thursday it plans diverse marketing activities as a main sponsor of the Australian Open tennis tournament to be held next week.

The Australian Open is one of tennis' major international events and Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., has been sponsoring it for 14 years.

Kia Motors said that it will provide 107 vehicles, including the K5, Soul, Sorento and Carnival, for athletes, VIPs and event organizers during the event, which will kick off on Monday.

It also plans to utilize commercial boards set up around the tennis courts, run promotion booths and display vehicles in order to expose its brand and products to visitors and viewers.

"We have been sponsoring this event since 2002. We will utilize our status as an official sponsor for the Australian Open until 2018 to show the dynamic image of our brand to tennis fans through diverse marketing efforts," the company said. (Yonhap)