Kia has introduced Forte LPI hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), it’s first mass production hybrid car, to the South Korean consumers yesterday. In addition to that, Kia also unveiled its new eco-friendly sub-brand, Eco-Dynamics, an initiative which will bring a host of new eco-friendly technologies and models to the international markets.

The Forte LPI hybrid electric vehicle is powered by an economical mild-hybrid drive system consisting of 1.6L gasoline engine and electric motor. The Liquefied Petroleum Injected (LPI) engine generates 114 horsepower, while electric motor brings additional 20 hp. Equipped with this kind of hybrid system and continuously variable transmission, the Forte achieves a very competitive fuel economy rating of 17.2 kilometers per liter of LPG fuel (41 MPG US), which is equivalent to 21.5 kilometers per liter fuel economy in terms of gasoline, the company said.

To differentiate the Forte hybrid from it’s non-hybrid variants and improve the vehicle’s aerodynamics, some changes have been implemented to the existing exterior design. In front,  you will notice a slightly different corporate Kia grille and a restyled front bumper with larger air intake and attractive fog lights design, while at rear, Forte now features a radically redesigned rear bumper and LED equipped taillights. On the inside, Forte LPI hybrid features a Super Vision instrument cluster for hybrid system data and a navigation display.

Kia Forte hybrid will also be the world’s first hybrid vehicle to utilize the highly advanced lithium polymer (Li–poly) battery, which is lighter and smaller but has higher output than nickel-metal hydride batteries. Those will be supplied by Korean battery supplier LG Chem, the world’s fourth largest rechargeable battery producer. The LG Chem will also supply similar battery pack to GM’s Chevy Volt.

Following it’s recent announcement that the company will focus on developing of eco-friendly vehicles, Kia also revealed it plans to bring the first full-hybrid car - probably based on the next generation Optima sedan- to the market in late 2010 and it’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered car in 2012. Expected to hit the global markets in the same year is the plug-in hybrid sedan.

Together with it’s parent company Hyundai Motor Co, Kia plans to spend nearly $6 billion on research and development this year, with majority of money pumped into development of new hybrid and fuel cell electric cars such as Kia Forte LPI hybrid and Borrego FCEV.

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Kia has announced it has began a full scale production of the Cee’d ISGs at it’s European manufacturing plant in Slovakia. Kia cee’d ISG models are already underway, while deliveries to European customers are scheduled to begin during the next two months.

At the beginning, Kia will build 6 different cee’d ISG models, while later, during the year, ISG technology will be expanded to diesel engine equipped cee’ds as well. Furthermore, Kia also promised to expand it’s innovative technology to other models in the range, while in the 2010, the ISG technology will also spread to markets outside of Europe.

Kia’s innovative ISG system automatically switches the engine off when the car is stopped in traffic and restarts the engine instantly when the driver wishes to move again. When city driving, in typical heavy traffic conditions and constant stop-start motoring, the ISG system cuts the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 15%compared to the standard cee’d model, while everyday driving over town, country and motorway routes, the officially measured fuel saving is 6% on the combined cycle. (See the table!)

The Kia cee’d ISG also benefits from a significantly improved, new-generation 5-speed manual transmission, which weighs 5 kilograms less than previous unit and features new selector mechanism.

Pricing details for cee’ds sporting the fuel saving ISG technology is yet to be announced, but we were told that it will vary across Europe to suit individual market conditions.

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Completely redesigned Kia Sorento is expected to make it’s worldwide debut very soon. Kia has confirmed it will put it on display for the first time at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show, which opens it’s doors on March 2009.

The future Sorento has been codenamed XM and is known to receive some major technical upgrades over the current model. One of them, hidden from our eyes, will be the all-new six-speed automatic transmission, which had been developed jointly by Hyundai and Kia Motors.

Just yesterday, Hyundai announced the development of this highly advanced automatic transmission has been completed. In it’s official press release, Hyundai pointed out that it has joined the elite class of auto manufacturers who have designed their very own proprietary 6–speed automatics. After Ford-GM joint venture and Toyota, Hyundai became the 3rd company in the world to develop it’s own 6–speed automatic transaxle.

Until now, only Hyundai Genesis sedan and Kia Borrego have been using the six-speed automatics, but those transmissions were developed by Aisin and Germany’s ZF company.

Kia and Hyundai have already announced a wide range of their next generation vehicles will get this brand new 6-speed automatics. And first Kia vehicle to benefit from this newey developed tranny will be the next generation Kia Sorento!

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First Kia vehicle to benefit from corporation’s continuing and massive investment in eco-friendly technologies will be the 2009 Kia cee’d ISG. Among all four exhibited “green” Kia cars at the green zone in Paris, the cee’d ISG is also the closest to production vehicle. According to Michael Choo, Kia’s PR manager, the production of the ceed ISG will commence as soon as in December this year!

Compared to regular cee’d, the cee’d ISG features two eco-friendly technologies that will be transferred from a concept to production Kia car for the first time. We are talkng about the new ISG -Idle Stop&Go system and low-rolling resistance tyres.

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If you enter Kia stand at this year’s Paris Auto Show, you can notice it’s separated to two different zones, each displaying different production and concept Kia vehicles. In the “Soul zone”, Kia is displaying it’s segment-busting creation, the Soul urban crossover vehicle, while the “green zone” features four exciting eco-friendly concept cars. On display in the “green zone” are the cee’d ISG, cee’d hybrid, Soul hybrid and the hydrogen powered Sportage FCEV.

Thanks to the group of Kia officials who attended this exciting auto show, we can take an exclusive sneak peak preview at all four green Kia concepts. In the video, posted after the jump, Mr. Michael Choo, Kia’s International PR Deputy General Manager introduced all four concept cars and revealed some interesting information about each of them! Enjoy the video!

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Kia Motors is ready to join the hybrid club. At the upcoming Paris Auto Show, the company will unveil a near production gasoline-electric version of it’s eagerly awaited Soul crossover.

Gasoline-electric Soul prototype features Kia’s Gamma 1,6L gasoline engine fitted with electric motor, which delivers an output of 20 horsepower and 105Nm of torque. The gasoline-electric engine pack is mated to the CVT transmission (continuously variable transmission) and returns an average fuel consumption of 4,9L/100km (48MPG US) and carbon dioxide emissions of just 117 g/km. Compared to the standard Soul model, CO2 emissions were reduced by 26%.

Kia Soul hybrid is equipped with an innovative Idle-Stop-Go (ISG) system that automatically switches the engine off -when the car is stopped in a heavy traffic- and on again when the traffic moves. According to Kia, the ISG system cuts emissions and fuel consumption by up to 15 percent! The Soul hybrid also employs regenerative braking to charge it’s battery pack.

Exclusively for it’s Paris world premiere, the Soul hybrid concept will come complete with panoramic powered folding fabric roof and transparent bonnet and floor, so the new hybrid powertrain and battery pack will be easily viewed by the visitors.

Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.’s Elantra liquefied-petroleum-gas electric hybrid will roll off the production line next summer, several months ahead of the previously planned launch due to a top management directive, a company executive says.

“We’ve put about 100 LPG Hybrid Elantras through performance tests so far, after beginning the hybrid program in 2002,” Lee Ki-sang, director of the Hyundai Electric-Vehicle Project team, tells Ward’s. “We’re now focusing on calibrations and formal validation of the system.”

As with all of the auto maker’s hybrid-electric vehicles, the technology was developed exclusively by Hyundai. “We have developed everything in-house at the Namyang research center,” Lee says. “We have licensed nothing from any other hybrid developers.”

The Elantra hybrid is powered by a 1.6L LPG-powered engine, which is supported by a 15 kW electric motor with continuously variable transmission. The lithium-ion battery is supplied by LG Chemical Ltd. (more…)

Only a few days after Toyota announced it would bring Prius hybrid to Korean market, Hyundai-Kia’s Chairman, Mr. Chung Mong-koo, revealed some facts about the company’s current hybrid car development and future plans. The announcement was made during his visit of Kia Motor’s factory in Gwangju, a Hyundai spokesman said.

Although the auto giant’s plans to launch hybrid electric cars in 2009 had been known of for some time, until recently the group has been focused more on luxury segments and fending off foreign carmakers than on pursuing eco-friendly technologies.

To secure new growth engine for the future, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group plans to spur on its hybrid electric and hydrogen fuel cell projects. Chung said that the need to develop eco-friendly auto technologies is becoming greater and that hybrid electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies will form the basis of the automotive industry’s growth! (more…)

Besides the trio of exciting Soul concepts, Kia was also exhibiting two new green concept cars at Geneva. Called “eco_cee’d” the concept cars are a development of the highly-acclaimed Kia pro_cee’d (first shown at the Frankfurt Show last year) and the hugely popular cee’d five-door hatchback.

With the eco_cee’d models, Kia aims to achieve even better fuel consumption, with fewer emissions - while still delivering a lively, spirited and entertaining drive. Kia Motors has already confirmed that many of the technologies featured on the eco_cee’d concept cars will be progressively transferred to the cee’d family of production models, manufactured from December 2008.

“The rapid transfer of green-performance eco_cee’d concept features into production versions of the cee’d, demonstrates Kia’s vision for the way ahead,” enthuses Mr Paul Willis, COO Kia Motors Europe. “Our new ‘eco’ features also confirm Kia’s commitment to creating environmentally friendly production models - without losing sight of customer expectations for fun-to-drive cars.”

The impressive performance, fuel economy and emissions figures of the eco_cee’d cars result from numerous small but significant modifications. Fuel consumption is improved (just 3.9 litres/100km) and C02 emissions reduced - to just 104 g/km (down 17%) for pro_cee’d and 106 g/km (cee’d five-door).

Eco_cee’d gallery:

Kia Links: Cee’d Forum, Pro_cee’d Forum, More about Eco_Cee’d, Cee’d crash test video, reviews

Kia Motors has a new 3.0L V-6 turbo-diesel on display at its booth at North American International Auto Show this year. The engine is labeled as a clean diesel and is adjacent to the just announced Borrego SUV.

Kia began offering the engine in Korean market models in mid-2007 and plans to eventually sell the engine in the US market as well. According to the information on the display, Borrego is the target installation in 2010.

Like the diesel engines from the German automakers, the Kia engine is equipped with particulate filters to clean up the soot. It also features a urea injection system with selective catalyst reduction to reduce the NOx emissions to a level that will allow the engine to meet Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards.

According to John Juriga, director of powertrain at the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center near Ann Arbor, MI, engineers are currently running dynamometer tests on the engine at HATCI. There are also diesel engine prototype vehicles being tested at HATCI.

Juriga says no on-sale date has been determined at this time. Kia is a corporate partner with Hyundai. Hyundai has previously indicated that it plans to develop diesel engines for installation in that brand as well. Hyundai spokesman Miles Johnson indicates the engine on display at Kia is also being tested for use in Hyundai brand vehicles. [Source: Dieselforecast.com]

Since I heard about Kia’s KND-4 concept car debut at L.A. Auto Show, I was hoping to get a video of it’s unveiling. I have been extensively searching the web for the last five days and having a bit of luck in my pocket, I found one today.

After watching it, I can honestly admit it overexceeded my expectations. Instead of short KND-4 video preview I was looking for, I got a complete Kia press conference from L.A. Auto Show. Here it is…

Hi there folks. Interested in future of Kia cars? I found a very interesting test drive article with Kia Sportage FCEV. I hope guys at Carmagazine won’t get angry, because posting it here! Enjoy…

What is FCEV? It stands for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, and this Sportage SUV is Kia’s latest attempt at a hydrogen-powered car. This technology has been the talk of the industry for the last decade as the ultimate in eco-friendly motoring.

Most experts thought production cars were another ten to 15 years away, as sky-high development costs and a lack of accessible filling stations were the stumbling blocks. However, Honda recently announced it would sell a Ł50,000 fuel cell saloon from next year in America and Japan, so all car makers are now re-assessing their plans. (more…)

Environment-friendly cars touting buzzword such as “Eco,” “Green,” and “Blue’ have been the rave at recent motor shows. This trend is a direct reflection of the efforts being made by automakers around the globe to reduce air pollution by curbing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from vehicles.

This has also been a key mission of Kia Motors. On top of developing eco-friendly cars, we have continued to work on reducing various pollutants generated during the manufacturing process. One of our key efforts is replacing oil-based paints with water-based paints in the coating process of vehicles manufactured in Hwasung (Korea), Slovakia and China plants. (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…)

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…)