Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, said on Friday it has begun sales of its

2015 K3 compact sedan, the latest version of the car otherwise known as the Forte in the United States, in the home market.

   The new mid-sized sedan, built for five passengers, is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system, unlike the previous version for which the monitoring device was only an option.

   The automaker, part of the world's No. 5 automotive conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, said although the revised K3 comes with improved safety features, the price remains little changed.

   The markup for the Deluxe trim level is within the 100,000 won ($90.98) range, and for the Gasoline Prestige trim, prices have even been marked down by 280,000 won, the carmaker said.

   Kia said that it has, moreover, streamlined the two trim levels of the outgoing K3 Euro hatchback model to one, maintaining the specifications and price of the model at the same level as the Prestige model.

   The price for the base 1.6-liter model equipped with a gasoline engine starts at 15.53 million won, while a diesel-engine model is priced from 19.4 million won. Prices for the turbo-charged K3 Koup and the Euro hatchback model begin at 18.05 million won and 18.95 million won, respectively. (Yonhap)