Kia Motors America will add another vehicle to its line-up in 2008, the Soul crossover utility vehicle (CUV). Announced at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit that it will become a production vehicle, the Soul was originally unveiled as a concept car during the 2006 Detroit show.

A collaborative effort between Kia’s design studio in California and design studio in Korea, it will go on sale at the end of 2008.

“The Soul’s aggressive and youthful styling is raising the bar for vehicles in its segment, and we are excited that it will be joining the ever-expanding Kia line-up in 2008,” said Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of KMA.

“The flexibility, function and utility this vehicle provides, as well as its dynamic appearance, further demonstrate Kia’s commitment to producing vehicles that create passion with consumers.” ( Click here and scroll down to see the best Soul pictures ever published!!) (more…)

As you already know, Kia is letting people to decide on the name of their large SUV, codenamed HM. They are holding a survey until October 25th! (read more about the survey)

Here are the results so far:

KIA HM SURVEY RESULTS!

Yes, we talk a lot about Kia’s Soul crossover vehicle on KIA-WORLD blog. It’s because we think that this is the hottest upcoming Kia vehicle right now!

Soul is going to be company’s first hallo car and also the first Kia vehicle that holds the new design direction: Solid and aggressive, with a feeling of strength!

It is a compact crossover vehicle combining features of a small SUV and a small minivan. If you are interested in a Soul crossover please use our search engine or click here: Kia Soul archive! We have a lot of informations about it!

New spy shots:

click image to enlarge!

Having been opened for less than a year, the Kia Motors €1 billion investment in its first European factory in Zilina (Slovakia) has set new standards in quality and productivity.

With the use of some of the world’s most advanced automotive technology the plant produces one car every minute! This is equivalent to 100 cars per employee per year, generating an ultimate capacity of 300,000 units annually.

Innovations at the factory, including 100 per cent automation ratio for all welding operations carried out by 310 robots, ensures the consistency of quality. As a reflection of this quality, Kia is offering an industry leading seven year warranty on all cars currently produced at the Zilina factory.

Not content with setting production and quality standards, the Zilina factory is also environmentally conscious, employing the latest technologies in order to minimise waste and reduce emissions and waste water.

Instead of requiring a separate heating source it uses steam from the existing plant, allowing that plant to operate more efficiently and so reducing emissions and energy consumption.

Click image to enlarge!

Kia chose the survey and their web site visitors to decide on name for their large sport utility vehicle. Codenamed HM, Kia is waiting to make it’s world wide debut at the North American International Auto Show in January 2008.

Three names, Opelia, Mohave and Windriver were selected for the survey. And acording to our visitor Jamay, the Mohave name is in the slight lead, among the three, right now. But don’t jump to conclusions too quickly as the survey still goes on and ends on 25th of October!

You can jump to our article and read more about the survey; just follow the link: Kia collects opinions for HM SUV, take part in KIA-WORLD blog’s  HM survey, or take a look at some fresh spy shots snaped in South Korea:

Korean automakers exports this year are projected to exceed $30 billion for the first time. Last week, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association announced that local automakers exported vehicles worth $22 billion during the first eight months of the year, and that, if the exports are kept at the current rate, this year’s total automobile exports will reach $32 billion. Last year, local automakers’ exports of assembled vehicles came to $29.9 billion.

This year, local carmakers sales, in both the domestic and overseas markets, have increased at steady rates.

On Oct.1, Hyundai Motor Co. announced that the company had sold more than 600,000 vehicles during the third quarter, an increase of 5.5 percent from the same period last year. The company attributed this rise to the popularity of the hatchback i30 and the sports utility vehicle, Santa Fe, in the domestic and foreign markets. (more…)

Over the last 100 years, automobiles have become an essential part of everyday life. Cars play a crucial role in public transport systems in many parts of the world; without them, the world’s logistics systems would come to a standstill. For many people, whether they are driving vehicles or watching professionals on a track, automobiles have also become a basic form of entertainment.

However, despite their role in modern society, automobiles also pose a serious danger. Not only are fossil fuels, which are used in most vehicles today, quickly running out, but the by-products of fossil fuel combustion such as carbon dioxide are the main cause of climate change and pollution.

While the governments of many countries have been drawing up policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the global automotive industry has been focusing on developing technologies to replace fossil fuels as the main energy source for automobiles. (more…)

2009 Kia Sportage to debut in July! (read more)

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Conceived as a car for Europeans to be designed and built by Europeans, it has been a company-wide ambition from the moment the silhouette of the cee’d was first drawn on paper to win the European Car of the Year (COTY) award.

And we are happy to announce that we are now one step closer to realizing our goal, as the cee’d was selected among 33 competing models as one of seven vehicles to make the shortlist for the 2008 COTY honour.

The finalists include the Kia cee’d, Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Mazda2, Mercedes C-class, Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 308.

Being among such elite company is a great honour in itself, but this achievement is even more significant as this is the very first time that a Korean brand vehicle has made the COTY shortlist.

The 58 members of the COTY Jury, made up of Europe’s most influential motoring journalists, are now given the task of apportioning 25 points among at least five of the cars and providing a written justification of their choice. The final result will be announced on November 19th, 2007.

With its European origins, 5-Star Euro NCAP safety rating, and revolutionary 7-year warranty, we like the cee’d’s chances! [Source: Kia]

Here are some photos of the facelifted Kia Picanto, which made it’s world debut at the Barcelona Motor Show and is the latest addition to the Kia model range, presenting consumers with a winning combination of exciting contemporary design, lively competitive performance, great fuel economy, and ultra-low emissions.

Attractively restyled and refreshed, while retaining the original model’s ‘young, sporty and friendly’ spirit, the new Picanto is a car that’s still small on the outside, but feels big on the inside.

It is capable of seating four full size adults, or a family of five in comfort. It is exceptionally versatile with a wide range of seating options and a spacious interior that merit the description ‘mini-MPV’.

The original Picanto took Kia into the A-segment for the first time and, since launch, has attracted more than 250,000 buyers in Europe. Together with Cee’d, Picanto became a key model in Kia’s European growth strategy.

Kia Motors, the country’s second-largest carmaker, reported today that it will hold a survey until October 25th to select the name for it’s new sport utility vehicle, which is to debut at North American International Auto Show on January 2008.

Kia had chosen three different names and gave an opportunitiy to anyone who wants to vote. Candidate names are: “Mohave”, “Windriver” and “Opelia”. The name will be defined on a popularity poll of the firm’s Internet homepage (Kia Motors).

Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, plans to introduce the new, large SUV internationally at the gegining of the next year, as it looks at ways to grab a bigger slice of the North American market.

Codenamed the “HM”, the new model is aimed at competing with Toyota’s Lexus 350, BMW AG’s X5 and Mercedes Benz’s M-Class models in the United States, according to the automaker.

Kia Motors has spent three years developing the new SUV, which employs a 250-horsepower, 3-liter, V6 diesel engine. HM is the first Kia Motors vehicle designed by Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer, who joined the company last year. [Korea times]

Next Monday is Blog Action Day. After almost two months of being online, this blog reminder is going out to more than 7,500 bloggers with many, many, more signing up daily!

Since launch not only have thousands of bloggers pledged to post, but the initiative has also been featured in the press – including the very prestigious Wired Magazine.

The call for bloggers has been translated into 20 languages, huge blogs like Lifehacker have committed to participating, some very large organisations like the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Opera Community and social portal Reddit have pledged to promote and the momentum is still building!

Read more: Blogging for the Earth!

Europe’s most efficient and advanced vehicle production facility has seen its 100,000th Kia cee’d roll off the production line. Built in record time, only 28 months, the factory in Zilina, Slovakia, has carried on setting the benchmark for vehicle production.

Having been open for less than a year, the Kia Motors €1 billion investment in its first European factory in Zilina has set new standards in quality and productivity.

With the use of some of the world’s most advanced automotive technology the plant produces one car every minute; this is equivalent to 100 cars per employee per year, generating an ultimate capacity of 300,000 units annually. (more…)

Kia Motors always claimed that its first European assembly facility in Slovakia will establish new benchmarks for vehicle quality and productivity, aiming to manufacture 100 cars per employee per year when fully operational and becoming the most productive car plant in Europe.

Productivity promise was further endorsed when the 100,000th Kia cee’d drove off the assembly line on Wednesday, October the 3rd!

Although local automakers have made significant advances in terms of performance and safety, Korean cars have yet to become known for their designs.

In the early days, many Korean cars were re-assembled versions of vehicles imported under license from foreign firms. Even after local automakers started developing their own vehicles, they were not above borrowing designs from their older and bigger foreign competitors.

However, in recent years, local carmakers such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. have placed much more emphasis on improving design.

Last year Kia appointed the former Audi and Volkswagen designer Peter Schreyer as its chief design officer in an effort to accelerate the process of shedding its boring image.

However, such efforts by the nation’s automakers could be misdirected. While appointing experienced designers at the helm will allow them to quickly adopt a new approach, only radical changes in the country’s education and corporate system will allow a more profound change in local car designs. (more…)