This Kia’s called the Kee. Is it the key to a bright future?

If you talk to the firm’s design chief Peter Schreyer it is. That grille is the future look of all Kias. He wants the company’s cars to be instantly recognisable from 100 metres away, rather like BMWs or Audis are. And he believes the Kee’s front end will do that.

On other cars it won’t necessarily have the recessed element that the Kee does and he claims it could be less rectangular or maybe even body coloured but it’ll be essentially the same shape. That’s why the front grille is echoed in the lines at the rear too; he wants to get the message across.

It’s an interesting look. What’s it like in the metal?

The Kee’s dimensions make it about the same size as an Audi TT (the car that helped Schreyer make his name). And the Korean car wouldn’t look out of place parked alongside a TT or Mazda RX-8. (more…)

Kia continues to post strong sales numbers in Canada. Although the overall sales fell almost 3 percent in September from a year earlier Kia managed to increase it’s sales by a whooping 34 percent!

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Canadian car and light-truck sales fell 2.9 percent in September from a year earlier to 131,853 vehicles.A scant 0.1 percent increase in truck sales, totaling 61,237 vehicles, could not offset a 5.3 percent drop in car sales to 70,616 vehicles.

Current market share leader General Motors saw sales drop 6.6 percent to 33,090. Sales at Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer and Saab brands dropped by double digits. In contrast, Saturn sales rose 13.5 percent. (more…)

Hyundai Motor Co. is cutting production at its Alabama assembly plant, but sister Kia Motors Corp. is forging ahead with its goal of building 300,000 vehicles annually in the United States.

That’s the planned production capacity of the $1.2 billion plant Kia is building in West Point, Ga. The plant, scheduled to open in late 2009, will be nearly identical to the one Hyundai operates in Montgomery, Ala.

“We’ve said all along that 300,000 is maximum capacity. We’re not backing off at all. What’s happening at Hyundai does not impact us,” said Alex Fedorak, spokesman for Kia Motors America and acting spokesman for the Georgia project. (more…)

The Wheels boss was firm: He would enjoy a week’s worth of blacktop bliss driving the upscale Audi TT coupe. I would drive the Kia compact….Have fun.

Now, as a man who knows his place among the auto reviewers’ pecking order, I accepted my task stoically – muttering to myself all the way to the parking garage, out of earshot of the Wheels boss. Because he who gives out the keys, after all, can taketh them away.

Arriving at the garage, I found the Kia Spectra SX: black exterior, dark trim inside. Hmmm. Nice set of wheels, kind of sporty look, rear spoiler in the back adding just a hint of attitude. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, I thought. No Audi TT screamer, but, hey, I could give some rest to the decade-old minivan I drive. (more…)

Kia Motors has confirmed that it will add ‘eco’ versions of the Kia cee’d model to its product line-up early in 2009. Based on the green-performance eco_cee’d concept car first shown at last month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the new ‘eco’ versions of Kia cee’d will achieve better fuel consumption, with fewer emissions – while still delivering a lively, spirited drive.

All the technologies featured on the eco_cee’d concept car will be transferred to the new ‘eco’ range of production models, which Kia is planning to manufacture at its Zilina facility in Slovakia, from December 2008. (more…)

Kia Motors parent company, Hyundai Motor Co. is preparing to celebrate it’s 40th anniversary. December 29th will be the day to mark 40 years of Hyundai’s constant growth and success! To commemorate it’s 40 years, they released a special new official emblem which will grace all Hyundai Motor products, advertising and sales events.

To spice up the respectable anniversary, Hyundai will officially launch their long awaited, all-new, rear wheel drive luxury sedan codenamed BH. It’s Korean market launch is set to coincide with the company’s anniversary. (more…)

South Korean auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. said today it will invest US$78.1 million in a plant in the United States to supply parts for vehicles to be made by Kia Motors Corp.

The plant will supply parts modules to a Kia factory under construction in Georgia, Hyundai Mobis said.”Hyundai Mobis will supply 300,000 units a year of front-end, chassis and cockpit modules to Kia’s automobile plant,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

Kia Motors, which like Mobis is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., is building a US$1 billion plant in West Point, Georgia. The factory will have production capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year. Kia has said it will begin production in late 2009.

Hyundai Mobis already has a plant in nearby Montgomery, Alabama, which supplies auto parts to a Hyundai Motor factory there. [Source: LSJ.com]

To launch the Korean brand in a competitive market such as the UK, Kia initially chose the marketing and sales paths of ‘stack them high – sell them cheap’.

This strategy aimed to achieve more exposure with actual vehicles on the road so creating more brand awareness by retail and business car users.

An excursion into unprofitable daily rental business increased Kia’s official UK registration figures but did little to establish the brand as one that private, business, or fleet buyers might want to own.

The setting up of a European design centre and an all-new production facility in Zilina, Slovakia, claimed to be the most efficient and productive in Europe with a capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year, changed Kia’s strategy. (more…)

One of KIA-WORLD blog visitors gave us a cue about new microsite on Kia’s Korean website. Beeing curious as we are, we visited their official website today! And guess what we found? A facelifted Sportage microsite!

The vehicle you are looking at right now is the brand new 2008 Kia Sportage destined for Korean market! Unlike the European Sportage, which was officially enveiled at Frankfurt’s Motor Show last month, Kia’s compact SUV received a major facelift for it’s home market.

The new Sportage features exterior enhancements such as redesigned front and rear bumper, re-styled grille, different front and rear lights, enlarged door mirrors, new-style alloy wheels and more.

Every Sportage has sixteen inch diameter wheels with 215/65 R16 as a standard and larger 235/60 16 wheels as an option. The suspension dampers are stiffer for improved on-road handling and body roll has been reduced.

South Koreans can choose between two engine options. First, there is a 2,0 liter oil burner with the output of 151 hp and 320Nm of torque, which is an increase of 11 hp compared to the old engine. And second, there is a 2,0 liter gasoline option avaliable, producing 142hp. Both engines were improved and are now more refined to offer better fuel consumption and lower noise level in the new Sportage edition. [Source: Kia]

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During the first half of this year, area Kia dealers were happy!Over the past three months, they’ve become ecstatic.

“All of the sudden, people are becoming aware of the quality of the brand,” said Bob Foulks, general manager of Tri-County Kia in Lorain County.

During the first half of the year, Kia was already the hottest brand in and around Cleveland, figures from the Greater Cleveland Auto Dealers Association show. Then, during the three months that ended Sept. 30, Kia sales accelerated, climbing 83 percent compared with the same three months last year!

The dealers association covers a 19-county region that includes most of Northeast Ohio, ranging from Erie County in the west to Richland County in the south and to the Pennsylvania border in the east.

The summer quarter is typically the weakest for automakers and dealers. The October-through-December quarter tends to be one of the strongest, with new model releases and year-end sales.

“I expect the success of the brand to grow,” Foulks said. “There’s new product coming out, and the cars just seem to be getting better.”

While Kia was the most successful brand in the area during the summer, others also performed well.

Mazda, a brand controlled by Ford Motor Co., was up 41 percent in the quarter. So far this year, Mazda sales are up nearly 33 percent. It was a bright spot for Ford as the company’s main brand fell 10 percent.

General Motors Corp. suffered the most in the region. Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac, Hummer and Buick all fell sharply during the quarter. Buick performed the worst, with a 27 percent sales drop. [Source: Cleveland.com]

Find more pictures here: Sportage1, Sportage2 or Sportage3

Kia Motors Corp. said Monday it had delayed commercial production at its second plant in China, slated to be started this month, amid sluggish demand in its second-biggest export market.

Kia had completed building the US$600 million plant with its two Chinese partners at Yancheong in the eastern province of Jiangsu, but commercial production at the plant is to be delayed for “several months to add some facilities,” said Kang Hyun-geun, a company spokesman, by telephone.

“No exact date has been set for commercial production,” Kang said. (more…)

Following our release of the first silhouette image of the HM – Kia’s next SUV to hit the market – here on this site, there seems to have been some confusion stemming from a subsequent Korean market news release that has now been translated into foreign languages and circulating over the Net.

We’d like to clarify that the HM’s competitors in the U.S market were incorrectly stated in the domestic release. The official competitive set for the HM is as follows: Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Toyota 4Runner and Nissan Pathfinder.

Furthermore, the translated version of the release also fails to make clear that the ongoing HM naming survey is only for the Korean market vehicle and not for the export model. So you can expect the HM to be sold under different names in Korea and in overseas markets.

We apologize for this confusion and hope to be providing more details on this exciting new SUV from Kia in the coming days. [Kia-buzz]

Hyundai Steel aims to become the cleanest steelmaker!

In recent years, human activities have been exerting increasingly greater influence on the environment and have given rise to global problems such as climate change.

In response, various governments and international organizations have been implementing measures to reduce pollution, and strengthening environment-related regulations.

In line with changing government policies, industries that are often thought of as major polluters such as the steel industry have been taking steps to reduce pollution and become more environmentally friendly.

Among local steelmakers Hyundai Steel Co., a member of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, has been placing special emphasis on reducing pollution and protecting the environment. (more…)