Kia has teased a sole teaser image of the all-new K3, which will make its debut in Mexico on August 8 in conjunction with the brand’s eighth anniversary in the country.
The shadowy image shows a close-up of the K3’s taillights, which will have a signature reminiscent of the facelifted Picanto – the company refers to its latest design philosophy as ‘Opposites United’. There also appears to be a light bar connecting the light clusters, but that’s about as far as the photo gives away about the car.
At present, the K3 is an alternative name used for Cerato and Forte, which is a model that is already on sale in Mexico. The current, third-generation K3/Cerato/Forte first made its debut in January 2018 and was given a facelift not too long ago in April 2021. This has raised suspicion that the upcoming K3 will not be a direct replacement but something else entirely.
Reports suggest that the new K3 will be a successor to the Rio. The fourth-generation Rio has been around since 2016 and got an update in 2020, making it a likely candidate to be replaced. In Mexico, the Rio is available in sedan and hatchback body styles.
“The Kia K3 sedan combines sophisticated design and a spacious interior, redefining market segments and drawing attention from upper-segment buyers,” the carmaker said in its release, suggesting the new Rio sedan will be a lot more upmarket than before.
There’s further evidence to support the claim that the new K3 will indeed be the new Rio in Mexico, as back in April this year at the Kia CEO Investor Day, it was confirmed that a new Rio will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2023, to be produced at the company’s Mexico plant. We’ll find out the true story really soon.
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