German luxury carmaker BMW is betting big on its savvy sport utility vehicles to lure customers in South Korea, where competition is heating up in the luxury SUV market.

BMW plans to introduce several new X Series models, including the face-lifted X3 and all-new X4 and X6 in the latter half of this year.

BMW opened a new era of sportier SUVs with the X3. Since its debut in 2003, more than 1 million units have been sold globally.

The new X3, which will hit the Korean market in August, is a revamped version of the second-generation model. 

For the latest model year, BMW has updated the X3 by adding revised styling with the connected headlights and grille and a handful of new tech features.

Among other things, the carmaker has added a turbo-diesel engine option for more power and better fuel efficiency.

Equipped with the 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, the all-wheel-drive X3 xDrive20d churns out 190 horsepower and a maximum torque of 40.8 kilograms per meter.

The all-new X4 is also expected to hit the market in August. BMW says the X4 combines the “performance and capability of a premium sports activity vehicle with the style and elegance of a traditional coupe.”

The striking front is characterized by a solid stance, a powerful kidney grille and large air inlets. The integrated double-round headlights are available with full LED technology as an option.

The sporty bumpers, extremely muscular wheel arches and broad shoulder line further emphasize the X genes of this sports activity coupe.

The X4 comes equipped with diverse engine lineups producing 184 to 313 horsepower.

Its flagship gasoline model, the X4 xDrive35i, churns out 306 horsepower and a maximum torque of 40.8 kilograms per meter. It takes only 5.5 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour.

BMW’s final new launches this year will be the X6, dubbed the world’s first-ever sports activity coupe. The car maintains the outgoing model’s sleek, coupe-like profile but gets dual-round headlamps that connect to the kidney grilles.

All 2015 X6 models receive BMW’s eight-speed twin-turbo gasoline engine. The X6 xDrive50i boasts 450 horsepower and a maximum torque of 66.3 kilograms per meter. Its 0-to-100 kph acceleration takes 4.8 seconds.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)