NEWS

KOREAN firm Kia will now offer a three-door version of its new Rio for the first time in the model’s history. The five-door version went on sale in September, but the new three-door boasts a ‘coupe-like side-profile’ for £600 less. The trim levels are carried over from the five-door - namely ’1’, ‘1 Air’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ – [...]

THE first of Kia’s new global standard Red Cube showrooms has opened at Arnold Clark Northwich in Cheshire. The red cube concept has been created to deliver the ‘most complete visual representation’ of Kia’s design-focused brand strategy. While the new showrooms will only open at major new-build sites, many of the concept’s elements will soon [...]

WE’VE been privileged enough to visit a few car factories in our time – but most of them are extremely secretive. Stickers that cover up phone camera lenses and persistent guards are usually the norm – but not when we visited Kia’s factory in Slovakia. The Zilina site builds the new Sportage, as well as [...]

JCT600 has announced that its new Kia dealership in Castleford, is now open and ready for business. The dealership is the result of ‘a significant investment’ from both Kia and JCT600, and it will provide a six-car showroom and modern service facilities extending to in excess of 2100 sq ft, incorporating the very latest Kia [...]

KIA has released the first image of its much anticipated all new five-door C’eed. The replacement for the C-segment model is due for its full public unveiling at Geneva with UK deliveries due to start in June. The model will be built in Zilina, Slovakia and bears a strong family resemblance to Kia’s other recent [...]

MR. Byung-Tae (Brandon) Yea has been appointed president of Kia Motors Europe with immediate effect. Yea succeeds Mr Sun-Young Kim as president, and brings a wealth of executive experience to the role. Yea spent his early years at Hyundai Motors Corporation and later Hyundai Motors America. He then joined Kia Motors Corporation in 1999 and [...]

So it’s September – we all know what that means – plate-change time. Or, as I like to call it – spot the punter who wants to wee all of the Joneses’ 11-plate Astra. A recent chat with Ford’s pr boss revealed that Ford sells more cars in September than any other month. That means that [...]

AN MX-5 rivalling roadster is certainly firmly in Kia’s sights – and it seems its design chief already has some firm ideas. Peter Schreyer, the former Audi designer, was responsible for the dramatic new Sportage and has been steadily radically revamping the Kia brand. At an event with a handful of editors of Britain’s top [...]

KIA’s Slovakian factory is to introduce a third production shift to keep up with rising demand. The Korean firm is looking to recruit 1,000 new employees at its Slovakian plant in Zilina in order to satisfy demand for its models. ‘The creation of the third shift at Zilina is the latest step in Kia’s long-term [...]

KIA could soon reinvent the classic British roadster – just as Mazda did with the MX-5 20 years ago. As part of the Korean firm’s attempts to energise its brand and make it appear more sporty, executives are looking at the models that can help them realise their ambitions. Benny Oeyen (pictured), vice president of [...]

KIA is aiming to create a performance sub-brand like AMG and BMW M – and the cars could be in showrooms next year. The Korean firm is attempting to push its brand forward after a prolonged period of new model launches and its European bosses believe performance cars are the way to do it. Benny [...]

KIA will unveil a sports saloon at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show to take the fight to BMW’s M5, Car Dealer can reveal. Based on the Hyundai Genesis platform – a large sedan currently sold in America – the concept car will boast rear wheel drive and a powerful V8. ‘Peter Schreyer is convinced there [...]

KIA or sister firm Hyundai could one day race in Formula 1 a company insider has told Car Dealer. The Korean manufacturer has fully priced up the cost of entering the world’s premier motorsport arena, and although the time isn’t right now, there’s nothing to say it won’t be in the future. ‘We would never [...]

The refreshed Picanto represents a new direction for Kia. The managing director of Kia Motors UK tells James Batchelor why he has high hopes for the car. The new Picanto is impressive – you must be pleased. We are very excited about the new Picanto. Not only because we feel it is a strong product [...]

KIA has announced the appointment of Simon Hetherington as its new dealer development director. Hetherington moves from the position of marketing director to the newly created role. Since joining the company in 2007 from Toyota GB, Hetherington has steered the company’s increased public profile through a strong strategic development of both the product line-up and an [...]

CAR Dealer took the Kia Sportage for a long drive from the office on the south coast to Wales – and here’s what happened. We’ve written many words about the Sportage before. Here for instance. And here. And here. Even here. That’s because it’s a firm favourite with the Car Dealer office. We strongly believe the [...]

KIA is restructuring some parts of its internal teams to create a new stand-alone dealer department. The Dealer Development Department will be headed by a board director ‘to add increased focus on customer experience and dealership profitability,’ says the firm. Michael Cole, managing director, said: ‘This brand has undergone dramatic growth over the past few [...]

KIA Motors UK has announced the appointment of David Williams to the position of national business manager. The position will see Williams handling nation-wide fleet and business-user accounts. Williams, 44, has moved across from Kia’s regional dealer management team to take on the new responsibility and replaced Phil Molkenthin who has transferred the other way [...]

KIA dealers have helped Kia Motors UK raise more than £29k for Comic Relief through a special sale of ‘pimped up’ motors. 28 Kia dealers ‘pimped up’ 31 old trade-in vehicles into something hot enough to be auctioned for charity, and in the process helped raise a final sum of £29,625. The ‘Pimp My Part-Ex’ [...]

122 Kia dealers will be raising funds for Red Nose Day 2011 the Korean firm has announced. As a supporting partner of the charity event, Kia dealerships up and down the country ‘will be doing something funny for money’, with each dealer pledging a minimum of £1,200. To reach that £1,200 target, the dealers will [...]