Hyundai and Kia cars both made the top 10 of the 2008 Car Reliability Survey issued on Sunday by Consumer Reports, an American organization that reviews consumer products and services. This is the first time the Korean automakers’ models were included in the top 10 list of the annual survey.

According to the survey, Hyundai cars ranked 8th, up 7 spots from last year, while Kia cars came in 10th, up 12 spots from last year. Consumer Reports picked Avante in the compact car category and Lotze in the family car category as Hyundai and Kia’s best models, respectively.
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Cumulative sales surpass one million units over first nine months of 2008, increasing 14.4% year-on-year

110,431 Kia vehicles sold globally in September

Sales in general markets, Korea, China, Europe and North America post year-on-year sales growth of 45.7%, 19.5%, 10.9%, -12.4%, -22.8%, respectively

Kia Motors Corporation announced today that its global sales (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) of passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles in September 2008 recorded 110,431, representing a 2.7% year-on-year increase.

By region, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in general markets (25,851 units sold, a 45.7% year-on-year increase), Korea (24,322 units sold, a 19.5% year-on-year increase) and China (11,012 units, a 10.9% year-on-year increase). Meanwhile, in Europe and North America, 28,091 (a 12.4% year-on-year decrease) and 21,155 (a 22.8% year-on-year decrease) Kia vehicles were sold in September, respectively.
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China has suspended car imports from South Korea’s Hyundai and Kia, apparently after complaints they violated anti-trust rules by pressing local dealers to meet sales targets, Hyundai said on Thursday.

Hyundai has not received any official notification from the Chinese government and hopes the import ban will be lifted as soon as possible, said Hyundai Motor spokesman Jake Jang.

He said the ban only applies to cars produced in South Korean plants by Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world’s fifth-largest carmaker by sales.

Hyundai also produces vehicles at its plants in China but these are unaffected.

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Seven versions of the all-new Kia Soul urban crossover passenger car will star in a special ‘Soul World’ as the new segment-busting vehicle makes its world debut at the Paris Mondial de l’Automobile from 2 October 2008.

The eagerly awaited Kia Soul marks a revolutionary expansion of the Kia product line-up. A bold statement of Kia’s determination to succeed as one of the world’s top automotive companies, Kia Soul is destined to appeal to a whole new group of European and global consumers.

Alongside the new Soul – which will arrive in UK showrooms during Spring 2009 – will be a raft of new environmental-focused vehicles including a hybrid version of Soul, a cee’d hybrid, a latest-generation fuel-cell powered Sportage and a cee’d ‘Idle Stop&Go’ car, which is due to go on sale in the New Year.

“Soul presents consumers with such a broad selection of styling, comfort and equipment choices, that it redefines the concept of freedom. It’s a brand new urban car packed full of liberating ideas – a car that challenges consumers to ‘free your mind’, to build an emotional bond with their new car and to rethink everything they know about Kia,” enthuses Mr Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO, International Business Division, Kia Motors Corporation.

Kia Motors Corporation Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, has overseen the evolution of Kia Soul from 2006 concept fantasy to its 2008 production reality. “The new Kia Soul will be a breakthrough vehicle for Kia on its journey to be seen as a design-led company and the maker of distinctive cars which consumers aspire to own. Conceived in the USA, developed in Korea and fine-tuned in Europe, I strongly believe that the production Kia Soul urban crossover is a completely resolved design that has successfully achieved its own distinctive style.

“Kia Soul is all about creating a car that demonstrates our passion for automotive design, gets Kia talked about, and generates an irresistible customer appeal that will translate into strong sales,” added Schreyer.

“First impressions will make a big impact and there will be several unique aspects to the experience of sitting in the Soul,” enthused Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer, Kia Motors Europe. “The tall doors and high-mounted seats make for easy access, whilst the ‘laid back’ dashboard, triple dial instrument cluster and thick-rimmed steering wheel create an unusual combination of spaciousness for passengers and cosiness for the driver to generate a very special ambience inside this new Kia.”

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Kia Soul is a five-door hatchback with front-wheel drive, a high roofline and an unusually long wheelbase. Overall length is 4,105 mm with a 2,550 mm wheelbase. Overall height is 1,610 mm, the base of the windshield is 135 mm higher than a typical compact car, the hip-points are 120 mm higher and the ground clearance is raised by 45 mm.

Access to the new Kia Soul’s spacious interior is remarkably easy and the cabin will deliver head, leg and shoulder room that matches or exceeds many larger vehicles. Generous headroom (1020/1005 mm front/rear), legroom (1070/990 mm front/rear) and shoulder room (1403/1400 mm front/rear) will ensure that Soul can accommodate five large adults in genuine comfort.

Kia plans to sell 18,000 units of the new model, called Soul, by the end of the year, and will boost annual sales to 136,000 units from next year, the Seoul-based automaker said in a statement. Exports to Europe and the U.S. will begin in the first half of 2009, it said.

Chairman Chung Mong Koo is betting on new small autos to improve profitability at Kia after operating losses in the past two years. Kia this year began selling a revamped Morning minicar and Forte small car as consumers demand more fuel-efficient vehicles to cope with a 5.2 percent increase in South Korea’s gasoline prices since December.

The Soul is fitted with a 1.6-liter or 2-liter engine, both on petrol and diesel variants. It will sell for between 14 million won ($12,300) and 20.8 million won, the statement said.
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Although August is traditionally a slower month for sales, Kia continued to experience strong worldwide sales growth, especially in China and general markets. Despite the challenges facing the industry, this month’s results are very encouraging.

Global sales of passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles in August 2008 recorded 112,564, representing a 9.2% year-on-year increase.

By region, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in general markets (25,520 units sold, a 50.9% year-on-year increase), China (10,627 units, a 34.7% year-on-year increase), and Korea (23,305 units sold, a 1.3% year-on-year increase). Meanwhile, in Europe and North America, 24,172 (1.9% year-on-year decrease) and 28,940 (5.6% year-on-year decrease) Kia vehicles were sold in August, respectively.

So far in 2008, Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets has been the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Spectra’ in some markets) with 140,836 units sold. It is followed by a close group of three vehicles: the B-segment Rio at 108,414 units, the C-segment cee’d at 103,350 units and Kia’s Sportage compact SUV at 99,608 units. Meanwhile the A-segment Picanto continues to perform well with 68,014 units sold.

Cumulatively, through the first eight months of 2008, Kia’s global sales increased by 16.0% year-on-year and reached 951,948 units. China (101,490 units sold) and general markets (167,922 units sold) have experienced the largest gains of 41.8%, and 35.7%, respectively. Cumulative year-on-year sales increases have also been experienced in all other sales regions: Korea (16.0% gain from 204,849 units sold); Europe (10.8% gain from 240,504 units sold); and North America (2.3% gain from 237,183 units sold).

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• Diesel (126 ps*) and gasoline (126 ps) engines to power Kia Soul in Europe
• Soul cabin to deliver unrivalled space, comfort and style
• World premiere at Paris Show – 16.45 hrs, Stand 520, Hall 5, 2 October
• On sale in February 2009, Kia Soul will appeal to the ‘young-at-heart’

Kia has confirmed that its all-new Kia Soul urban crossover passenger car will go on sale in Europe next February with a choice 126 ps* diesel and gasoline engines – with a choice of manual or automatic transmissions, depending on model.

The two highly efficient 1.6-litre, 16-valve, four cylinder petrol and diesel powerunits are based closely on the DOHC engines already fitted to the hugely successful, European-built, Kia cee’d. The diesel engine generates 126 ps at 4,000 rpm and maximum torque of 255 Nm at 2,000 rpm. The all-aluminium gasoline engine also produces 126 ps at 6,300 rpm and 156 Nm of torque at 4,200 rpm.

“The Kia Soul is a brand new urban crossover car packed with liberating ideas – a car that will challenge consumers to free their minds. It will offer cavernous passenger space that matches or even outperforms vehicles with much larger exterior dimensions,” enthuses Mr Panu Vainamo, General Manager Marketing, Kia Motors Europe.

Soul is a five-door hatchback with front-wheel drive, a high roofline and an unusually long wheelbase. The key dimensions behind the it’s striking appearance are vertical measure-ments. Overall height is 1,610 mm, the base of the windscreen is 135 mm higher than a typical compact car, the hip-points are 120 mm higher and the ground clearance is raised by 45 mm.

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A rival from Kia for the Skoda Roomster, Nissan Qashqai and forthcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser will have its world premiere at the Geneva motor show press day on 4 March.

In fact, the company will pull the covers of three near-production concepts, each partly disguised by heavily modified paintwork, the latter designed to showcase the possibilities for future accessories and customising of the small hatchback/minivan crossover.

The Soul, a play on words of the capital city of Kia’s home nation, was originally revealed as a concept at the Detroit motor show in January 2006.

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Hyundai

January 2008 : Large Luxury Sedan (BH Codename)

Fisrt Half 2008 : Tucson Minorchange, Grandeur Minorchange

Second Half 2008 : Next generation of Tiburon (BK codename), Bernard Minorchange, Successor of Click/i20(PB codename) ,Next Gen C8 (Po Codename)

First Half 2009 : successor of Equus, Elantra/Avante Minorchange

Secon Half 2009 : Veracruz Minorchange, New Model Small car

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Kia

9 January 2008 : Borrego/mohave

First Half 2008: Morning/Picanto Minorchange, Soul crossover(AM codename), Pride/Rio Minochange, Successor of Cerato (TD codename), Lotze minorchange

First half 2009 : Next gen Sorento (XM codename), VG (Grandeur badge)

Second Half 2009 : Successor of Opirus (CH Codename share with Hyundai BH), XK coupe (Hyundai BK brother model), SL Suv

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GM Daewoo

First half 2008 : Tosca/Epica minorchange, L4X (stateman replacement)

Second half 2008 :Nubira/Lacetti/Optra (J300 codename),Matiz/Spark (M300 codename)

2009 : New model

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Renault-Samsung

November 2007 : QMX suv (H45 codename share with renault kaleos model)

First half 2008 : SM7 minorchange

First half 2009 : MPV

Second half 2009 : Large SUV (H49 codename), new SM3, new SM5

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Ssangyong

early 2008 : W200 large sedan

lately 2009 : C200 small suv, Y300 suv

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Seoul, Nov 07 (Korea Newswire)– Kia Motors has revealed that the corporation’s all-new, mid-size, SUV will bear the name Kia ‘Borrego’ when it makes its world premiere at the Detroit Motor Show in early January 2008, will be sold in South Korea from January under the brand name “Mohave,” and will be sold in USA in June next years Kia said in a statement.

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