2025 Kia K4 teased ahead of 2024 New York Auto Show

Kia Motors on Thursday unveiled its new compact sedan, the successor to the current Forte.

The new car will go by the name K4, the last name used for the compact sedan that Kia sold exclusively in China.

The current Forte is sold outside the U.S. as the K3, but Kia recently introduced another compact sedan called the K3 for developing markets, so the Forte's successor needed a new name.

The K4 will debut on March 21, ahead of its official debut at the 2024 New York Auto Show a week later, and should hit showrooms later this year as a 2025 model.

A camouflaged prototype was spotted earlier this year. This suggests a sportier fastback design for the K4 compared to the Forte; the K4 also appears to be larger than the Forte.

Kia plans more than a dozen EVs by 2027, but the K4 will not be battery-powered. A gas engine is planned, possibly in a hybrid configuration.

For EV enthusiasts, Kia is planning an EV4 hatchback in the same segment as the K4. It has also announced an electric compact crossover, the EV5, but it has not yet been released in the U.S.