Kia Concept Hints At Return To Large SUV Market

Kia Motors is eyeing a return to the large SUV market with plans to introduce a new concept vehicle at the 2016 Detroit auto show.

The SUV concept, created at the automaker’s California design studio, features "an abundance of advanced technology -- including state-of-the-art health-and-wellness technology," Kia said in a statement late Tuesday.

The unnamed concept hints at the styling of "a possible future premium large SUV" in Kia’s lineup, the company added, while setting a "bold new direction' for the brand's "design language."

Kia hasn't marketed a large SUV in the U.S. since the seven-passenger Borrego was dropped in 2011. The mid-sized, body-on-frame SUV was launched in 2008 with a starting price of $26,995, including shipping, for the V-6, two-wheel-drive version.

Kia sold 9,835 Borregos in 2010 in the U.S., down 7 percent from 2009.

A fully loaded V-8 Borrego stickered for about $38,000. It was the largest light truck ever marketed by Kia in the U.S. and the first Kia model with a V-8 engine.

But it was launched just as U.S. gasoline prices spiked, sending demand for large SUVs and other big light trucks tumbling.

Across the industry, a new generation of lighter, more fuel-efficient SUVs and crossovers are finding favor with American consumers again. And low gasoline prices have fueled a sales renaissance for many SUVs and crossovers in recent months.

U.S. sales of all SUVs, up 7.8 percent, and crossovers, with an increase of 17.4 percent, outpaced growth in the overall light-vehicle market last year. Moreover, demand for all premium crossovers surged 21 percent.

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