It’s been nearly two years since it was first whispered that Korean automaker Kia Motors might be creating 2,500 or more jobs somewhere in the Southeast.

That was eons of clandestine state negotiations, land purchases and a factory groundbreaking ago.

Now, the wait appears to be nearing an end for those wanting to leap aboard the automotive job train that is being generated by South Korea-based Kia’s decision to build a 2.4 million-square-foot assembly plant on 2,200 acres in West Point, near the Alabama line. (more…)

Carmakers previously sought to fuel anticipation ahead of new car unveilings with spy shots and cover-ups, but nowadays, they are hyping it up with a more up front strategy to tease potential buyers. The full disclosure method _ it seems to be doing the trick.

Uncovering a model before official sales begin helps to stir a pre-sale boom, say local auto industry experts. (more…)

Earlier this year, Kia confirmed that the Soul crossover introduced at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show would be going into production.

A camo laden example of the production version has been spotted in the Detroit area not far from the Hyundai-Kia Tech Center. The production version looks like it sticks pretty close to the concept on the outside.

The main visual differences are the rear suicide doors being replaced with conventional types and frames around the side glass. The shape of the vehicle with the slight downward sloping roof-line and the boxy front remains true to form. [Source: Autoblog]

Get to know more on Kia Soul here!

Reuters reported that Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea’s top auto maker, plans to begin mass production of its fuel cell car model from 2012 at the earliest, a company official told Reuters on Thursday.

Global car makers such as Toyota Motors Corp and General Motors Corp are developing environmentally friendly vehicles, under pressure to reduce harmful emissions produced by their cars amid fears of global warming.

“We will start mass production of a fuel cell model, like the i-blue, from 2012 at the earliest, or from 2015 at the latest,” a Hyundai official said, asking not to be identified. He declined to provide price details, sales targets or development costs.

Hyundai unveiled “i-blue”, the fuel cell CUV (crossover utility vehicle), at the Frankfurt International Motor Show earlier this month.

Hyundai, the world’s No.6 car maker by sales volume along with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp, plans to start in 2010 mass production of a hybrid model — the Elantra based compact car, according to the official.

Fuel cells use the interaction between hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity to power a car while emitting only water but they have to yet become commercially viable.

Proponents insist that 5 million to 10 million fuel cell cars could be on the road within 15 years, with the number growing to 350 million worldwide by 2050.

But while the technology is making great strides, it still costs far too much and lacks the widespread infrastructure that motorists will need to fill their tanks with hydrogen.

We already reported that Kia cee’d was chosen for a Slovakian patrol car, but this time Kia Motors goes official! Here is an article:

Kia Motors has been appointed an “official supplier” to the Slovakian Ministry of the interior and awarded a contract to supply locally-manufactured Kia vehicles to the country’s police forces until 2010!

The first batch of 43 cee’d police patrol cars were handed-over recently and a further 350 cee’d cars are scheduled for delivery by year-end. Over the next three years, up to 4,000 Kia vehicles could be ordered as part of the Interior Ministry’s re-equipment programme.

At the hands of policemen operating different shifts, each cee’d patrol car will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will be expected to cover up to 200km per day in the course of regular police duties. (more…)

- Pan-European competition attracts entrants from 21 countries

- Belgian participant wins grand final to claim Kia cee´d worth €28,000

Kia Motors Europe recently hosted the grand final of its first-ever pan-European promotional competition – the “cee´d European Test Drive Challenge” – at the Hockenheim racing circuit in Germany.

The one-day grand final was attended by 70 participants from 21 countries. Finalists spent the morning familiarising themselves with the performance and handling of the Kia cee´d and receiving a safer driving course from professional instructors.

The “cee´d European Test Drive Challenge” competition was open to anyone taking a Kia cee´d test drive at a Kia dealership in Europe and attracted more than 20,000 entrants. (more…)

Here are the latest spy shots! Not from Kia, but it’s sister firm Hyundai. This is an i20 B-segment car, which will replace the outgoing Hyundai Getz. Getting the new name i20, this mini car will be joining Hyundai’s line-up somewhere between March and July next year!

Why is this important to us? Well, the i20′s platform, you are looking at right now, will be used for the next generation Kia Rio. Kia’s future small hatchback has already gone under development Kia inside source said and we can expect it to hit the roads in about two years.

Third generation Kia Rio will be designed by Peter Schreyer, Kia’s new chief design. Kia Kee, his first masterpiece since he joined Korean automaker, was recently showed at Frankfurt’s motor show. The car was very well recieved by the public, so expect the future Rio and Kia’s owerall design to follow the Kee way!

The Hyundai Getz is reaching the end of its life-cycle and Hyundai is working hard to replace it with this Hyundai i20 by the summer of 2008. We caught up with the new i20 in the Southern European mountains, and although we only snapped pictures of a five-door prototype we do expect a 3-door version to follow in early 2009.

The Hyundai i20 will be positioned below the brand new i30 which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show and is destined to take on the VW Polo. Power is expected to come from a variety of petrol engines ranging between 70 and 110 bhp and turbodiesel engines ranging between 88 and 110 bhp. [Source: Worldcarfans]

More i20 spy pics!

2007 Frankfurt Motor Show closed it’s doors on 23rd of September. Never before, so many auto novelties were shown at only one event. Therefore, Frankfurt’s motor show deserves to be named the world’s largest auto event!

There might be some people among KIA-WORLD blog visitors who attended the show. But not all of us were that lucky! And that is the reason for today’s video report, as we want to bring you at least a part of the happening from auto show and Kia stand. (more…)

To read all what we reported on Kia’s upcoming Soul crossover, please click here: KIA SOUL ARCHIVE!

Kia adds useful estate to the cee’d range!

The market for small estates has taken something of a hammering recently with the onslaught of MPV and SUV alternatives. That’s not stopped Kia from introducing a new estate (or SW as the marketing men prefer to call it) version of the cee’d. In typically optimistic fashion Kia thinks people will come back to estate cars, and it might just be right.

The cee’d SW doesn’t grow a great deal in size externally; being some 235mm behind the rear wheels and just 10mm taller. However, those relatively modest dimensional increases add 200-litres to the boot capacity, while access to that load area is easier due to the bigger hatch and lower loading lip. (more…)

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Kia is cutting back on unprofitable fleet business in order to refocus on becoming a ‘top ten’ UK retail player by 2012.

Speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show, newly installed UK sales director Yaser Shabsogh explained that the South Korean brand had already realigned its sales mix from 2006′s near 50/50 retail/fleet sales split (and number 16 fleet manufacturer sales spot).  

Shabsogh told just-auto: “Last year’s sales increases involved many quick-churn sales. Now we’re 70/30 in favour of retail – which is a about right – so it’s been a significant shift. We want to move from being a top 20 retail player to a top 10 one in the next five years.”

New Marketing director, Simon Hetherington (who, like Shabsogh, joined the company in July) confirmed that Kia would do “less sales volume this year as a result of cutting back on unprofitable fleet business.” (more…)

Meet the Kia Cee’d Safety Car. This tweaked hatch shows just how easily the Cee’d can be transformed from sensible to a bit special. It’s already seen action at Silverstone and Castle Combe, and we’ve also spotted it hurtling along the M25, but there are no plans to put it into production.

Along with the rear spoiler and those roof-mounted VisionAlert lights (are we the only ones with a slightly unhealthy fetish for this sort of police-style thing?), the Cee’d safety car has had a few mechanical modifications.

The suspension has been lowered and uprated, and some Eibach springs fitted. Then there are the wheels, which are tasty black 18×8 inch Rimstock items wearing low-profile 205/40 Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.

Naturally there’s also a built-in siren and a public address system, so you can let people know you’re coming.

There are plans to take development of the safety car further next year, with different dampers, and possible adjustments to the wheel offset and tyre profile. Sadly the engine is currently stock, but we’re sure there’s room for a couple of turbochargers under the bonnet. Or a V8… [Source: Autocar]

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