[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors on Nov. 16 unveiled the new KX5 sport-utility vehicle at a Chinese motor show in a push to boost its sales in the world’s largest automobile market.

The vehicle -- showcased at the 16th China Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition -- is set to hit showrooms in China in the first half of 2019. The KX5 is the Chinese version of Kia’s popular Sportage SUVs.

Kia said the new KX5 is more spacious than its predecessor and comes with various features to keep drivers safe, such as forward collision-avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, and driver attention warning systems.

The SUV is available in two editions, one with a 2-liter gasoline engine and another with a 1.6-liter gasoline turbo engine.

To meet rising demand from consumers seeking information and technology features, Kia Motor said the new KX5 will deliver customized infotainment services based on big data.

Under the collaboration with Chinese tech giant Tencent, drivers can stream music from the QQ Music platform. For example, a driver can say “let’s turn on the latest music,” and the system will automatically recognize the voice and play songs.

A driver can even just say “I am sleepy,” and the car will play upbeat songs and adjust windows, which helps in preventing accidents, Kia said.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)