Kia Motors has signed an extension to its contract with ESPN Star Sports' Kia X Games Asia that will see it sponsor the action sports event for the next three years.

The Korean car manufacturer has been a sponsor of the event since 2005, raising its status to title sponsor in 2007.

Next year’s event will be the 12th edition of Asia’s biggest action sports competition, and the fourth to be held in Shanghai. The latest edition held in May this year broke attendance records with 54,500 fans at Shanghai’s KIC Jiangwan Sports Center.

Byung-Tae Yea, executive vice president of Kia Motors, said of the renewal: “The KIA X Games Asia continues to evolve every year in line with the growing popularity of extreme sports in China and the entire Asia region. And we at Kia Motors are delighted to be a big part of such a dynamic competition featuring some of Asia’s best athletes. As a brand, Kia Motors strives to appeal to adventurous and young-at-heart consumers, and the X Games Asia is a perfect fit for our global brand ambitions.

“With the event scheduled to be held in China every year through 2012, we at Kia Motors view this as an exciting opportunity to continue our support of extreme sports in the region while continuing to broaden the appeal of the Kia brand to Chinese consumers. The new three-year deal will build on existing popular programs already in place. “

The X Games Asia was the first international X Games outside of the US and was launched in Phuket, Thailand in 1998. Since then, the event has been held across Asia, which also saw editions held at Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Seoul (Korea). 

The X Games feature around 200 athletes competing in sports from aggressive inline skating, skateboarding, BMX freestyling and sport climbing.