These are the very first spy shots of the 2010 Kia Forte/Spectra coupe! We have been waiting for a very long time to see the first XK prototype, and finally, the stylish two-door Kia coupe has hit the streets.

Codenamed XK, the two-door Kia coupe has been first shown as a KOUP concept vehicle at New York Auto Show last year. With it’s attractive exterior form, the concept car gained a great response from auto show visitors and automotive press, therefore it was only a question of months when Kia brings it to production.

As we see here, the XK coupe retained the general exterior shape from KOUP concept, but most likely, production model will receive a few mild styling tweaks to differentiate it from the show car.

A wide range of engines will be available when the car is launched, starting with a 1,6L diesel, generating 128hp (Korean market only). Petrol power will come courtesy of a pair of four-cylinder engines (2.0L and 2.4L). Later, a sporty variant with a 2.0lL turbo engine is also likely to appear. 

There is still no word yet on a release date for the new Kia XK coupe but if these pictures are anything to go by it shouldn’t take too long. But according to some rumors spreading around, we can expect the XK coupe to hit the showrooms sometime by the end of the year.

UPDATE: New Kia Forte Coupe spy shots

January 2009 sales report has been posted today by Kia Motors America and results are nothing but a huge surprise! While the rest of the automotive world posted high sales declines in the first month of the fiscal year, Kia managed to move 3,5 percent more vehicles from dealer’s showrooms compared to last year.

Surprising or not, the Korean second largest company also reported January 2009 sales have been it’s second best January sales since Kia entered the US market in October 1992!

January sales were led by Kia’s compact and mid-sized SUVs, the Sportage and Sorento, both posting significant increases over the same period last year, and the outgoing Spectra, which ended the month with almost 6,000 units sold.

Other Kia vehicles that also sold well in January was the 7-seat Sedona minivan with slight increase over the last year’s sales performance. Kia dealers across the country sold 2,570 Sedonas in January. Pretty good!

Rio, Amanti, Rondo and Optima have seen a sales decrease compared to January 2008, while the full-sized Borrego is still waiting to reach it’s momentum. Borrego continues to sell in the low 300′s, a number that is most probably, lower than Kia Motors America expected to be.

In conclusion, Kia has a great month behind and let’s hope the company can retain it’s momentum with the Soul and new Spectra/Forte sedan in the coming months.

Official Kia Soul documents for the Canadian market have just leaked to the web and they are revealing pricing, colors and accessory details for the 2010 Kia Soul. Kia Soul has made it’s official Canadian debut at Montreal Auto Show last week and is scheduled to go on sale -in Canada- in February this month.

As we already reported today, the 2010 Soul crossover will be available with two four-cylinder engines (1,6L and 2.0L), 5 different trim levels (Base Kia Soul, Soul 2U, Soul 4U, Soul 4U Retro, Soul 4U Burner ), 9 exterior colors (Sterling, Polar, Molten, Onyx, Vanilla Shake, Lava, Mint, Denim Titanium), and numerous exterior and interior accessories.

To mention just a few available accessories, Soul buyers will be able to opt for Sport Pedals, Door Scuff Kit, Flower Alloy Wheels, Sport Knob, Body Decals, Side Skirts and others.

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Kia has officially announced that it’s all-new Soul crossover will go on sale in Canada in February 2009. Destined to appeal to a whole new group of Canadian consumers, the Soul urban crossover will challenge consumers to change the way they think about Kia.

In Canadian market, the 2010 Soul will be available with either a 1.6 litre four cylinder gasoline engine developing 122 horsepower, or a 2.0 litre, 142 horsepower gasoline engine and 5 different trim levels, with each of them adding a fair share of unique equippment.

Starting the range will be the base Kia Soul, which packs a factory-fit radio/CD player with MP3 compatibility, 5-spped manual transmission, six airbags, 15-inch steel wheels, power locks, windows and mirrors, Bluetooth hands free connectivity, and heated seats . It is powered by 122-hp four-cylinder engine and features 15-inch steel wheels.

The Soul 2u is powered by 2.0 litre engine and adds front tweeter speakers, front side fender integrated turn signals, “Soul” patterned seat cloth, roof rails and keyless entry and 16-inch wheels to the standar equippment. Every Kia Soul, equipped with 2.0-L engine will be fitted with four wheel disc brakes, with ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) and ESC (Electronic Stability Control) as standard equipment.

Moving up one trim-level, the Soul 4u offers 5-spoke alloy-wheels wrapped with the 18-inch rubber (wheels), leather wrapped steering wheel, premium audio system and Sirius satellite radio with three month subscription.

Next on the trim level line is the Soul 4u Retro, offering the “Houndstooth” beige and black seat pattern and interior colours among its features.

The top of the line Soul 4u Burner includes a red and black colour scheme sure to turn heads, and a “Burner” red and black seat pattern. Rounding out the key options that the Soul Burner offers are “Wide View” bumpers and a rear spoiler.

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It’s pretty obvious that the range of new, cool-looking cars that Kia Canada brought to the 2009 Montreal International Auto Show indicates the Korean automaker has been appealing to a whole new group of Canadian car shoppers. Put on display for the first time in Canada have been the eagerly awaited 2010 Kia Soul urban crossover, Soul hybrid and the KOUP concept vehicles, all illustrating the evolution of Kia brand.

For the Canadian market, the 2010 Kia Soul will be available with a base 122 horsepower 1.6 litre four-cylinder gasoline, or a 2.0-litre engine gasoline developing 142 horsepower.

All Kia Souls sold in Canada will be equipped with a factory-fit radio/CD player with MP3 compatibility, power locks, windows and mirrors, Bluetooth hands free connectivity and heated seats. Standard safety kit will include six airbags, dual front, dual front side and dual side curtain airbags.

In Canada, the Soul will be available with five different trim levels, with each of them adding a fair share of unique equipment. The available trim levels are: Soul Base, Soul 2u, Soul 4u, Soul 4u Retro and Soul 4u Burner.

Every Kia Soul will have many accessories to choose from, making it easy to personalize and allowing the driver to express themselves and their lifestyle. It will also be available with a vide choice eye catching colours, interior and wheel combinations. It’s sales is expected to commence by the end of this month (February 2009)!

The Montreal auto show also marked the launch of Kia’s eco-friendly Soul hybrid concept -first seen at the auto show in Paris last year and the sporty KOUP show car car. Making their Canadian debuts, both concepts are indicating which way Kia will be heading with it’s future design and future powertrain technologies.

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Dongfeng Yueda Kia, Kia Motors’ Chinese unit and Hyundai Motor’s Chinese subsidiary, Beijing Hyundai Motor have both posted higher than expected car sales for the first month of the 2009! In fact, both automakers have set record high monthly sales in China.

Sales of Kia cars in China increased 15 percent compared to the same period of last year to be recorded at 17,607 units, while sales of Hyundai topped 42,790 units, represneting a 35 percent increase from a year earlier.

The best selling model for Hyundai was the Chinese version of the compact Elantra sedan, of which 17,889 units were sold last month, while Kia’s top sellers for the month have been Cerato compact hatch and Sportage compact SUV.

Although overall China’s automobile sales slowed in 2008, Kia still managed to increase it’s sales by 40 percent -to 142,000 units. For the 2009, Kia has announced even more optimistic sales projections and plans to increase it’s sales another 30 percent -to 185,000 units.

Together with it’s parent Hyundai Motor Company, Kia wants to accquire as much as 10 percent of China’s market for passenger cars this year. Both Korean carmakers will try to meet their goals with aggressive steps including adding new models tailored to local customers.

Kia will launch the all-new Kia Forte and Soul crossover cars this year, while the facelifted mid-sized Kia Optima sedan is also likely to make it’s official Chinese debut later this year.

“Hyundai and Kia are doing relatively well in China and January sales numbers were promising,” said Kang Sang Min, a Seoul-based analyst at Tong Yang Securities Inc. “Their strength in emerging markets will help them beat competitors more reliant on matured markets,” added Kang.

Meanwhile, overall car sales in the Chinese auto market fell about 13 percent in January 2009, to 470,000 units, from 540,000 cars a year ago. [Source: Bloomberg]

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The renowned French car magazine L’Automobile conducted a car quality survey in France and published results in their latest issue. Final results from their annual quality report might surprise some car enthusiasts around the globe, but not us, Kia fans.

In the quality evaluation, Kia Cee’d edged out rivals such as Honda Civic, Toyota Auris, VW Golf, Opel Astra and also other mainstream models, such as Audi A3, BMW 1-Series and Volvo C30 to claim the victory in the compact car segment.

Kia cee’d received top quality rankings and topped 19 rivals in it’s segment. According to L’Automobile, the cee’d received 17.5 points out of the possible 20 points, beating Honda Civic in the second place with 17,3 points. The Civic was followed by Volvo C30 and BMW 1-Series with 17 and 16,8 points respectively.

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