People in West Point have waited a year to see the visible signs that Kia is coming to their neighborhood. They’re finally here. Work on the billion dollar compound started last week. Kia officials say the progress of the plant is right on track. The steel frame is expected to be up by November of this year.  Construction must be complete by February of 2009.

“There were a lot of nay-sayers saying this is not going to happen. Being as intimately involved as I have on a day to day basis, I see the work, I see the people behind the scenes. It’s nice to see the rubber hit the road,” said Kia Project Manager, Mike Criddle.

Of course now that construction has started, that means Kia is one drill closer to hiring the more than two thousand workers it needs to run the plant. Kia officials say the hiring process could begin in the next couple of weeks.  [Source: WRBL]

Click image to enlarge!

Acording to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) of the U.S., Kia proves you don’t have to buy an expensive car to get a good protection on the road. Kia Amanti was one of the lowest priced sedans in the group, with a starting price of around $25,500, but offered better protection comparing to luxury cars such as BMW 5-series and Mercedes E-class.

It was announced that the 2007 Kia Amanti (known also as Opirus) received  a  “Good” rating from IIHS of the U.S. in a side impact crash test for large luxury cars.  A “Good” is the highest possible rating given by IIHS and the results show a range of performance in how well large cars are designed to protect people in serious side impact crashes, according to the institute.

“It comes as no surprise to learn how well Amanti did when compared to higher priced vehicles in this test,” said Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of Kia Motors America. “We are pleased that the IIHS test of the 2007 Amanti validates Kia’s philosophy of providing high-value and safe vehicles for our customers.”

Kia Motors will launch a SUV model globally next year and this model will be introduced to the Chinese market late 2008, according to sources from the company.

The SUV MESA is based on the concept car KCD II MESA, which was launched in 2005. The KCD II MESA was designed and developed in the R&D centre of Kia Motors in California, the United States. This is a model specially designed for North American market.

The MESA will be powered by a 3.8 L V6 Lambda engine, which is equipped on the VERACUZ model, a SUV made by Hyundai Motors.

- European-styled Sports Coupe Concept to reveal new face-of-Kia
- 4.3-metre long 2+2 coupe to make World Premiere on 11 September

Kia Motors Corporation has released a second preview image of the concept car it will unveil for the first time at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. Shown in profile, the svelte Sports Coupe Concept reveals classic lines coupled with a lengthened cabin design.

Designed in Europe, under the guidance of Kia’s Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, the all-new 2+2 Sports Coupe Concept, whose name remains a secret at present, will demonstrate an uncluttered, pure and timeless execution and represents a new design ethos for the Korean automotive company.

“The new Sports Coupe Concept is a clear and emphatic statement that the future of the Kia brand is set to be one that will excite and surprise an entirely new audience of consumers,” commented Peter Schreyer. “In making this design departure for Kia it was essential to my thinking that we did not lose sight of the fact that the Kia brand must continue to appeal to customers in the mainstream. It would have been easy to present an extreme supercar at Frankfurt that would attract plenty of attention, but could have no place in Kia’s future. Our Sports Coupe Concept is not simply a flight of fancy.”

“I believe this concept car could be a landmark vehicle in Kia’s history and I wanted it to appeal to the widest possible audience. This design is not the result of self-indulgent design excess. It incorporates a host of elements that will become the new face-of-Kia right across our product range and it is the clearest design statement about the way I want Kia to be seen as we go forwards,” added Schreyer.

Click here to enlarge:

More news about exciting Kia sports coupe:

http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/2007/07/18/kia-to-reveal-sports-coupe-concept-car-at-frankfurt-motor-show/

Korean brands seek to get beyond cheap, bland

Are Americans ready to pay a premium price for a Hyundai? Can they feel cool in a Kia? 

The two Korean automakers are planning their products to ensure the answers are yes. Hyundai wants more upmarket vehicles in its lineup. Its first effort – the Veracruz crossover, with a sticker price of just over $37,000 for a fully loaded version – went on sale in the spring, so it is too early to judge its success. The second vehicle will be a big, rear-drive, V-8-powered sedan due next summer that will carry a similar price. “We’ve got to make our brand a lot more powerful than inexpensive and long warranty,” says Steve Wilhite, COO of Hyundai Motor America.

Kia, on the other hand, has a design challenge. Its cars are bland, and it wants to be youthful and sporty.“Our next step will be breakthrough design,” says Len Hunt, COO of Kia Motors America. “We’ll get overtaken by the Chinese if we keep doing value and warranty.”In November 2004, Kia snared Tom Kearns from Cadillac, where he was on the team that designed the 2008 CTS sedan. In the fall of 2006, Kia landed Peter Schreyer from Volkswagen AG. Schreyer spent eight years designing Audis, including the TT sports coupe. “Kias don’t stand out when you see them approaching you on the road,” Schreyer says. “I want to give Kia more character.”While Hyundai and Kia are owned by Hyundai Motor, each brand likely will continue to do most of its vehicle development independently. A big exception is fuel cell echnology, on which they will work together.One project apparently has died at both brands. Neither Hyundai nor Kia is considering a pickup truck,” says a Kia company source. “A truck is absolutely off the radar screen.”Here are the 2008-11 model year vehicle plans for Kia.Rio: A freshening is slated for the 2009 model year; a hybrid may arrive for the 2010 model.

Soul: Kia’s new sporty small car goes on sale as a 2009 model. The five-seat, front-drive vehicle will have a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. The Soul will be 159.3 inches long, the same length as the three-door Hyundai Accent hatchback.The car was designed at the Kia design center in California and will be produced in Korea, primarily for the United States. The Soul name came from two influences: It was introduced in Detroit, the home of Motown soul music, and Seoul is the capital of South Korea.

Spectra: No changes are planned for the near future. Optima: A redesign is planned for 2010 model year.

Amanti: Freshened for the 2007 model year. No changes are due in the near future. Rondo: New for the 2007 model year; no significant changes are planned. The small, five-door vehicle comes in five- and seven-seat configurations. Sportage: No major changes are planned.

Mesa: Kia’s first crack at a large SUV is tentatively scheduled to reach U.S. showrooms in the third quarter of 2008 as a 2009 model.Korean models will get a 250-hpV-6 diesel mated with a six-speed automatic transmission. While Kia has officially released information only on the Korean model, U.S. dealers expect to get a V-8 gasoline engine, Kia’s first in the United States.The new SUV is developed on a stretched version of the platform used by the Sorento. The Mesa will have three rows of seats, but it will be shorter than the Hyundai Veracruz.Sedona: Redesigned for the 2007 model year; no major changes are planned for the minivan.Sorento: A redesign is slated for the 2010 model year.

[Source: Automotive news]

Hyundai Motor will start running a global situation center at its headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, this year. The situation center will be tasked with monitoring the operations of the carmaker’s plants worldwide in real-time and devising future business plans based on the data. In other words, it will serve as the headquarters and brain of the automaker in pursuing global business strategies.

The situation center has been under construction on the second floor of the Yangjae head office since mid-July. The construction should be done by late August and the center up and running this year.

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo will preside over real-time video conferences with heads of overseas units at a rear room, which will enable the chairman to hear briefings on situations overseas and pass down managerial orders without traveling abroad.

Hyundai Mobis Co., Korea’s biggest auto-parts maker, is investing $60 million to build a factory in Georgia that will supply Kia Motors Corp.’s first U.S. auto-assembly plant, the state said. Hyundai Mobis will employ 600 people in West Point when its factory opens in 2010, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Kia plans to make as many as 300,000 vehicles a year at its $1 billion plant, also in West Point, that opens in 2009. The Georgia factory would be third in the U.S. for Hyundai Mobis, which now makes parts in Alabama and Ohio.

Hyundai Autonet, a South Korean automotive electronics specialist affiliated with Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, ranked highest in the AM/FM/Single CD Player segment, according to a survey by a leading U.S. market research firm.

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study, the South Korean company got an overall 3.8 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), ahead of Alpine Electronics (3.9) and Clarion Corporation (4.1)

J.D. Power said that vehicle owners experienced little difficulty when operating the front auto/entertainment system controls of the Hyundai Autonet systems, mounted on Verna, Avante, Grandeur, Tucsan, Optima, Spectra and other Hyundai and Kia cars.

Fielded from February to May, the study is based on responses from 97,390 owners of new 2007 model-year cars in the United States, who were asked to rate satisfaction level on 26 categorized items. Lower scores reflect higher performance.

Follow the link to watch a sporty Kia Cee’d on the race-track.

GIACUZZO CEE’D VIDEO! (click here)

Perhaps Kia thought it was being coy when it supposedly leaked an official detail image of its upcoming Mesa SUV’s front end. Who needs an official detail shot, though, when you can rely on inattentive engineers who forget to cover the front end of their mule?

Here we get a full frontal view of the Mesa’s nose, which indeed confirms that it will closely mirror the visage of the KCD II Mesa concept on which it’s based. Unfortunately, the process of converting that concept to production has also altered the front end just enough so that it looks similar to the Subaru Tribeca.

 The Mesa appears similar in size to a Honda Pilot, or perhaps a Ford Explorer, since it’s reportedly a proper SUV, not a car-based CUV. It’s expected to be offered with Hyundai’s 3.8L V6 producing upwards of 260 horsepower, but like all new models coming out of Hyundai/Kia, a V8 is rumored to be considered, as well.  [Article: Autoblog]

Giacuzzo is one of the first tuning companies that released a sporty kit for Kia’s highly succesfull Cee’d.

Added sportpackage gives Cee’d a clean and sporty look. It has now more road presence than ever. Giacuzzo kit lowers the car for 35mm, includes 225/35 R19 tires, front, rear spoiler and a set of side skirts. All the parts are painted to match the Cee’d exterior.

Those looking for more than just styling upgrades, Giacuzzo tuned the engine too! Thanks to the chip tuning Cee’d customers benefit from a 136 HP oilburner cranking out 290 Nm of torque. That’s 21 HP and 35 Nm of torque more than Kia’s serial 1,6 litre diesel engine.

Related news: Kia cee’d chip tuning

Source: [bobaedream.co.kr]

How do you draw customers and car enthusiasts attention? First step; you show an attractive concept car to the world public. Second step; you produce that car with not many styling changes made on it. And that is just what Kia did! 

Today, Kia released their second preview image of it’s latest hatchback model named Pro_cee’d! This is the third model in Kia’s Cee’d line up, after the well recived five door hatchback and sporty wagon. The production three door Kia remains very close to the concept car shown in 2006.  As we look at the official pictures we can see that the new rear end shot reveals a sloping rear hatch and thick C pillar that meet a near vertical end. It gives a very clean and solid appearance to the Pro_cee’d.

“We are proud that the appearance of the Pro-cee’d production car remains so close to the concept we showed at the Paris Motor Show in 2006″ explains Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer, at Kia Motors Europe! “The three-door Kia Pro-cee’d is such a comprehensive re-working of the Cee’d design theme that only the bonnet and the front wing panels are carried over from the five door model. All other exterior panels are new and exclusive to this car.”

“We wanted to make Pro-cee’d as ‘sporty’ as cee’d could possibly be, while still remaining a member of our cee’d family,” added Gregory.

The new Kia Pro-cee’d hatchback will make its World Premiere at September’s Frankfurt International Motor Show, held on 11th of September and will go on sale across Europe in early 2008.

Click here for larger images:

Kia Motors Corp. displayed a concept SUV two years ago in Detroit called the Mesa. Tough, boxy, and bigger than other Kia SUVs, it marked a possible foray into large SUVs for Kia.

It’s no longer just a possibility. Kia’s July 24 sneak peek release of a sketch and a few details of the SUV marked the first official announcement of the production model for the Korean market. The HM is scheduled to hit Korean showrooms in December.

With the HM SUV, Kia ambitiously set its sights – perhaps motivational aspirations is a better term for it – on BMW’s X5 and the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. The company realistically expects the HM to compete with the Toyota 4Runner, Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Nissan Pathfinder, Dodge Durango and the like.

The signal Kia is trying to send is that it may not be in the same class as those vehicles, but with a more upscale look than its predecessors, the HM is heading in that direction. More importantly, it will have a price that could make buyers think twice, a feat Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has gotten good at in the United States.

It also symbolizes Hyundai and Kia’s slow but steady advances in the American market, where the large luxury vehicle segment is still hotly contested.

The HM comes with a 250-horsepower V-6 diesel engine mated with a six-speed automatic transmission. The HM name is temporary, although the name “Offenbach” bouncing around on the internet was considered but is unlikely to make the cut, said a Kia insider on condition of anonymity.

The original Mesa concept was designed at the Hyundai-Kia design center in Irvine, California, by Joel Piaskowski. Kia’s new design chief Peter Schreyer added to the production model the simple, straight-line touches he was known for at Volkswagen and Audi and that he has promised to deliver to Kia.

Kia is trying to develop a new look for its vehicles by moving away from curved lines, said Kim Chong-sul, who teaches car design at Ajou Motor College in South Chungcheong Province.

“Every ten years or so, automakers tend to switch back and forth between straight lines and curves,” Kim said.

The original concept had the 3.5-liter V-6 used in the Kia Sorento SUV, with which the HM shares the same platform. The concept was also a four-wheel-drive vehicle, which will continue as an alternative to the rear-wheel drive version.

Other details have yet to come out. While calls to several dealers showed that they know little about the HM and have received few inquiries, there is already a club formed around the HM. The founder of the club, Lee Myung-won, got excited about the original Mesa concept in 2005. Unable to get more information about the Mesa from company or dealers, he formed the club. He also runs a club for Kia’s Sorento SUV and said he doesn’t work for or own shares in Kia.

“I first developed an interest in HM just because I drive a Sorento and the news of a new SUV from Kia got me curious,” Lee said. “I thought a group of people interested in the vehicle would give us more leverage in prying info out of the company and other industry sources, and more people means more sources and more information.”

It worked. The club, called HM Love, has been invited to previews of the HM and gains new members every day, Lee said.

“We were able to attend a preview of the car at which we were able to give our views on the design of the car at the time. I felt that the rear of the car looked much less attractive than the front, and I told them this,” he said.

But like everyone else at this point, he is not sure what the final version will look like.

“As for the design now, or the design of the car that will be released later this year, I couldn’t really comment as the company said that it will be making adjustments,” Lee said.

That especially goes for the version that will go to North America, the market for which the HM was conceived. Important design elements, such as the grill and trim, will be changed to suit American tastes.

Kia has yet to officially release information on the North American model, but it will come with a V-8 gasoline engine, a first for Kia in North America. It is tentatively scheduled to go on sale there in the third quarter of 2008.

             Picures are taken by Autoweek.

Last month, Kia sold 3417 vehicles in Canada. The best selling model was the newcomer Rondo with sales reaching up to 787 units for month of July. Kia’s little SUV Sportage and compact car Rio did good too, with sales over 700 units for both.

Here are the numbers of vehicles sold:

Rio - 743, Spectra - 560, Magentis - 193, Amanti - 8, Rondo - 787, Sportage – 721, Sorento - 81, Sedona - 324