By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Kia Motors, the country’s second-largest carmaker, said Monday that it will hold a survey until Oct. 25 to select the name of its new sport utility vehicle (SUV), which is to be released by the end of this year.
Anyone can vote for one of the three candidate names: ``Mohave,’’ ``Windriver’’ and ``Opelia,’’ on a popularity poll of the firm’s Internet homepage (www.kia.co.kr).
Kia Motors said that it would present to each of the 20 successful applicants a 100,000 won ($109) gas station gift certificate.
Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, plans to introduce the new, large SUV by the end of this year, as it looks at ways to grab a bigger slice of the North American market.
Codenamed the ``HM,’’ the new model is aimed at competing with Toyota’s Lexus 350, BMW AG’s X5 and Mercedes Benz’s M-Class models in the United States, according to the automaker.
Kia Motors has spent three years developing the new SUV, which employs a 250-horsepower, 3-liter, V6 diesel engine. HM is the first Kia Motors vehicle designed by Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer, who joined the company last year.