Today in Las Vegas, Kia COO Len Hunt told us that the production Kia Soul we’ll be getting before too long will look almost exactly like the updated concept they showed us here today at SEMA.

It also happens to look a lot like the spy shots showed last month. In case you forgot, Kia introduced the Soul crossover at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. The camo-covered production version has been spotted in the Detroit area not far from the Hyundai-Kia Tech Center.

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KIA Motors America kicked off SEMA 2007 with the debut of their Spectra5 SX Concept. A bright orange, lightly modified version of their entry level 5-door sporty hatchback.

KIA Motors America president Len Hunt presented the concept car, stating that it hints at the new look of the next generation Spectra5 due to break cover at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show.

Hint seems to be the operative word here, because the car is so lightly styled (by SEMA standards) that it seems unrealistic that KIA would not make more significant changes in the next gen Spectra.

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We just got the first short test drive from Autocar. Let’s read what they have to say about this hot-looking hatch:

This is the punctuation-bothering, three-door Kia Pro_cee’d (plain Cee’d to you, me and the boot badge).From the outside, the three-door Cee’d has the look of a premium hatch (the Audi A3, mostly). But derivative though it might be, it’s handsome enough. (more…)

We are revealing you the first partly undisguised image of Kia HM. It has happend for the first time, that Kia engineers allowed spy photographers to take pictures of nearly stripped HM.

The new rear shot reveals a sloping rear hatch and thick C-pillar that meets a near vertical rear end. This is a very boxy but clean and elegant design, which gives the ass end of the HM SUV a very powerfull and robust appearance.

Kia Motors Corp. reported it has named the automaker’s former chief executive officer as its first vice chairman, in an apparent move to improve profitability as losses widened in the third quarter.

Kim Ik-hwan, 57, will oversee Kia’s sales at home and overseas as well as its finance, production and labor departments, the automaker said in a statement.

It’s been eight years since the reintroduction of the Kia brand to the Canadian market. And although “value” or “Hyundai-clone” most often come to mind when thinking of the current lineup, the Korean auto maker wants you to (soon) add “quality” and “desirability” to your Kia vernacular.

According to Jay Chung, President and CEO of Kia Canada, the auto maker is right on target on the quality front.

In a recent J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey, Kia vehicles ranked sixth in non-premium nameplates, and rose to 12th place, from 24th overall.

The reward has been month-to-month sales records in Canada. Where industry sales are growing at 5 per cent, Kia’s at 10 per cent. (more…)

Kia Motors first-ever vehicle manufacturing facility in Europe - the €1 billion operation at Zilina in Slovakia - is operating so efficiently that production of the new Kia Pro-cee´d began today - six weeks ahead of schedule.

The new three-door Kia Pro-cee´d, which made its World Premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, marks a major expansion of the popular Kia cee´d family of cars. Longer, lower and lighter, the new Pro-cee´d is the third member of the cee´d family and brings more style and more sportiness to the C-segment in Europe.

“The build quality and the productivity levels achieved by our Zilina operations are quite remarkable,” asserted Mr In-Kyu Bae, President and CEO Kia Motors Slovakia (KMS). “These two factors, plus the skills and versatility of our workforce, have enabled us to bring forward assembly of the first customer Pro-cee´d cars by six weeks.” (more…)

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest automaker, reported a wider loss because of a stronger won, slumping sedan sales and labor disputes.

The net loss was 55.1 billion won ($60 million) in the third quarter, compared with a 43.9 billion won loss a year earlier, the Seoul-based automaker said in an e-mailed statement today. Sales fell 6.7 percent to 3.27 trillion won.

The won strengthened 2.9 percent against the dollar, cutting the repatriated value of Kia’s overseas sales, about 75 percent of revenue. Domestically, strikes cut production and drivers shunned Kia’s Opirus sedans for less-profitable Morning compacts. (more…)

There is nothing to worry about. This is not an aid to help Kia overcome any kind of troubles, but to expand it’s Slovakian factory.

The Slovak government on Wednesday approved 34 million euros ( 48.9 million dollars) in aid to enable South Korean car producer to develop its plant at Zilina, in the centre of the country.

The aid, which has already been cleared by the EU, will help Kia to boost its annual car production capacity from 200,000 to 300,000. The 216 million euro total investment should take place this year and next, according to details provided by the government.

“The extension of Kia’s production would create more than 600 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs,” Kia Motors Slovakia spokesman, Dusan Dvorak, told AFP, adding that car production next year should climb to 225,000 cars from the 150,000 planned for this year.

Some of the extra production capacity should be used to manufacture the multifunctional MPV-B model, which is currently being developed, the SITA agency reported.

Bravo Kia! It has proved again that the cee’d hatchback is a winning car. This time, cee’d five-door received 2nd prize in the ‘Catalogue’ category at the 2007 International Design Awards. The publication was designed exclusively for the European market.

It is unusual for a catalogue of commercial emphasis to win such an award. This year’s honor is largely due to the huge support from the company.

The agency and the photographer worked together for four months to find the images and layout that would best represent the Kia brand. The five-door cee’d catalogue is the outcome of that symbiotic cooperation. (more…)

Kia is now building and selling its Sportage SUV in China. The automaker announced that it held a launch ceremony for the Sportage in China at Shenzhen’s Intercontinental Hotel on Thursday attended by CEO Jeong Eui-seon.Kia began producing the SUV this month at its factory in Dongfeng Yueda in Yangcheng City of Jiangsu province. Kia aims to sell 9,000 units by the end of this year and 40,000 next year.

The Sportage brings the number of Kia models available in China to five, including the Pride, Serato, Optima, and Carnival.

“With improvements in income and quality of life in China, SUV sales are on a steep rise,” said a Kia insider. “The Sportage launched in China is tailored for Chinese customers and will be the force behind Kia’s comeback in the Chinese auto market.” (more…)

Acording to Autonews, Hyundai will make transmissions for Kia at its future Czech plant next year, five months before it starts producing cars.

“This is because half of the production will be going to (Kia’s Slovak assembly plant in) Zilina,” said Petr Vanek, spokesman for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech in Nosovice.

Hyundai chose an eastern Czech Republic site 85km north of sister brand Kia’s plant to share a supplier base and to allow the accompanying powertrain plants to specialize. Hyundai will build transmissions for itself and Kia. Kia will build engines for both plants in Zilina, which opened in December 2006. (more…)

A recipient of a five-star crash safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a “Good” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Kia Sedona minivan also was recently picked as the safest family car by Forbes.com.

“Sedona has long been recognized as a leader in standard safety and protection,” said Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of Kia Motors America (KMA). “This latest recognition from Forbes.com only validates Kia’s commitment to providing consumers, and more importantly families, one of the safest and most reliable minivans on the market.”
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Take a look at the latest set of Kia spy shots. Kia Soul is beeing developed since 2006, when it was showed to the public as a concept car. It is going to be one of the first mini crossovers on the market, which we think is a great opportunity to bring lots of new customers to Kia.

There are several pre-production vehicles running on the streets around the world. And one of them was spotted recently, while beeing tested in Europe. The Soul crossover vehicle is one of the most exciting future products at Kia and is expected to make a world-wide debut at one of the auto shows next year.

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