Have you ever heard of Red Dot design award? Well, this is the world’s most prestigious design award an industrial product can receive for it’s design. Only a few of the very best products receive the award each year and this year, Kia Soul got one.
The Red Dot design award is the first for Kia Motors and also the first for any Korean car ever! It certainly proves that Kia is on the right way towards a design-driven company that delievers the products consumers will aspire to own.
With more than 3.230 entries from 49 countries in 17 different categories, the newly-launched Kia Soul was selected from the “Automobile Transport and Caravan” category to receive this design accolade.
Welcoming the announcement of the “Red Dot” award, Kia’s Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer commented, “Our design teams in Korea, California and Europe can be very proud that Kia Soul has achieved this prestigious recognition. Kia’s design strategy is focusing on distinctive product solutions and the development of a unique Kia family look. This award is a clear reward for Kia’s determination to establish design as one of the key components of its corporate DNA.”
While this is being the first-ever Red Dot design award Kia Motors received, it’s already the second one that a product penned by Peter Schreyer had gotten. He got the first one with his beautiful Audi TT sportscar a few years ago. Congrats Peter!
We should not forget other designers participating in the Soul development. So, the credits for the prestigious Red Dot award also go to Mike Torpey (the designer of the original Soul sketch), Gregory Guillaumne and other Kia designers who have been working hard over the past few years to bring the final Soul form into production! Once again, congratulations to entire Kia design team from KIA-WORLD!
March 18th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
OMG i saw a kia soul in lime green with no accessories whilst my brother was practicing his driving for a license test… it was going the other way and it had HUGE road presence, especially because of the shape and color. i turned around and shouted “oh my gosh is that a friggin soul?!?!?” and my bro got so scared that he’d done something wrong lol.
its not supposed to be here in australia for a while so i guess it was a preproduction vehicle. apparently my brother tells me that there was an automotive testing facility nearby so it may have been heading there or coming back from it.
so excited about this. and i didnt know cars could win red dot awards… always see them on samsung appliances but never on cars lol… learn (and see) something new every day!
March 18th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Good to know the SOul is already in Australia. It is supposed to go on sale by the end of April as far as I know.
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And next time, try not to scare your brother to death especially when behind the wheel!!
March 18th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
OMG!!! this is awesome!!!! RED DOT! congrats Kia!
March 18th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
In Michigan we should be getting ours on the lot by the end of the week. It is starting to attact more and mroe attention.
March 18th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Opel claims it has won the Red Dot for it’s Insignia and Seat claims it for the new Ibiza…
March 18th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
huh?
March 18th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Now you see the importance of the award. Everyone wants to win it!
March 18th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
so who won it? all three of them?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:54 am
They get 3 a day at the Dealer down here in Ohio. The Eocnomy is bad, but people are buying these like hotcakes. Just go to a dealer and look at the SOUL its a big car, its bigger than the current gen XB, has more HP, and better MPG, plus this thing is HUGE!!!! its as tall as a Sportage.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Volkswagen also got one for the Golf and the Passat CC, BMW got one for the Z4, Ford got one for the new Fiesta and Honda got one for the Insight… What’s the value of the award when apparantely half the automobile industry got one?
March 20th, 2009 at 11:04 am
doesnt seem so ‘prestigious’ any more…
March 20th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I’m glad that these are selling. Last month, they sold 34. that’s not bad for the last few days of February plus not to mention the commercial wasn’t released yet. Also, every dealership didn’t even have them yet. Oh, it’s great this won an award. That makes it more valuable now.
March 23rd, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Apparantely they did not get an award, but an “honorable mention”…. Which of course ain’t bad either!
March 24th, 2009 at 4:08 am
Wow that is awesome! Kia is on the way up!!!!! The soul is amazing. I love the way it drives. I hope to drive the 2.0L model soon, when they have some avaliable. The ones they had at the dealer were sold already.