The All-New Kia Seltos at its launch in Jakarta on Monday. (B1 Photo/Herman)

Jakarta. Kreta Indo Artha, a local car distributor, has launched the All-New Kia Seltos compact sport utility vehicle for the Indonesian market, marking the return of the South Korean automotive giant after a four-year absence.

Kreta Indo Artha took over as the sole distributor of Kia cars from the Seoul-based company's local subsidiary Kia Mobil Indonesia last November.

Andrew Nasuri, Kreta Indo Artha's president director, said the Seltos had played an important role in expanding Kia's global footprint and would be ideal to spearhead Kia's re-entry to Indonesia.

"We aim the All-New Kia Seltos at young consumers who are very tech-savvy because this car is loaded with all the latest technologies and safety devices," Andrew said at the launch event in Jakarta on Monday.

The All-New Kia Seltos comes with a ground clearance as high as 183 millimeters, which may be critical to help the car overcome frequently flooded roads in Jakarta.

The car also comes with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to channel the power from its 1.4-liter, 4-cylinder turbocharged engine to the front wheels.

It comes in three variants with prices ranging from Rp 295 million to Rp 355 million ($21,600-$26,000).

Kia will rejoin compatriot Hyundai – who owned 34 percent of Kia's shares – in a quest to challenge the domination of Japanese manufacturers in the Indonesian market.

Toyota now sells 32 percent of the close to 1.1 million cars sold annually in Southeast Asia's most populous country.

Daihatsu and Mitsubishi lag quite far behind with 18 percent and 16 percent of the market respectively, according to data from the Indonesian Automotive Association (Gaikindo).

Hyundai, while only managing to carve out a 0.1 percent share of the car market in Indonesia, has already announced an ambitious plan to produce electric cars in the country.

The company plans to invest $1.55 billion to develop an MPV and electric vehicle factory in Indonesia over the next decade.