Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, said Monday it aims to sell 20,000 Sorento sport-utility vehicles in China this year as it seeks to win a bigger slice of the fast-growing SUV market here.

The revamped Sorento, which is offered with either a 2.4-liter gasoline or 2.2-liter diesel engine, is produced at Kia's plant in South Korea and imported to China, the carmaker said in a statement.

Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., began selling the revamped Sorento earlier in the day after unveiling it in Shanghai, according to the statement.

Hyundai, Kia and their Chinese joint ventures sold a total of 1,843,354 vehicles in China last year, up 10.3 percent from the previous year.

Last last month, Hyundai and Kia predicted their combined auto sales would grow 2.5 percent to 8.2 million vehicles this year, marking the slowest sales growth in more than a decade. (Yonhap)