Since launching its presale period on Jan. 4, Kia’s All New Morning compact smart car has landed more than 4,000 contracts in two weeks, the company announced Friday.

Officially released to the public Tuesday, it marks the first new edition of Kia’s compact series in six years, since the second-generation model was released in 2011. The first in line to purchase the new All New Morning car was 25-year-old working mom Choi Soo-bin of Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

Celebrating the first car of the series to be taken off the lot, Kia Motors held a brief ceremony at its domestic sales division office in Apgujeong-dong on Friday.

As the first to buy the All New Morning, Choi also received a 2 million won ($1,705) gift voucher from Kia.

Besides its modernized cosmetic design and amped-up features, improved safety is one of the main highlighted concepts of the new compact vehicle, said Kia Motors.

The All New Morning is the first-ever compact car to offer an autonomous emergency braking system, which automatically brakes when it senses a possible collision with another vehicle. The automaker also expanded the use of the series’ high tension steel by 44.3 percent, the highest among compacts.

“The All New Morning, which has the best and most reasonable price tag of its class, has been receiving a lot of positive response from customers and the number of contracts are rapidly increasing,” said an official from Kia Motors.

“With the rise in the cost of fuel nowadays, we anticipate sales will continue to be popular because of the increasing number of fuel-conscious customers.”

The new Morning units are offered in five classes including deluxe and prestige, and is priced between 10.75 million won and 14.2 million won.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)