NEWS

KIA Motors (UK) has announced its northern regional franchising mamager Martin Watts has died. Friends, family and colleagues have paid tribute to Watts who died on November 9. ‘His sudden passing is a source of great sadness to his family and his many friends and colleagues throughout the motor industry,’ said a spokesman. Watts was [...]

SALES of approved used Kias have risen 67 per cent so far in 2010 compared to last year’s sales figures. Since its re-launch in April 2009 Kia’s Approved Used car programme has seen sales of more than 5,000 cars. Used sales of the Picanto city car have risen by 244 cent from 2009, while the cee’d range [...]

THE full 16-model Kia Sportage range has gone on sale to an expectant UK public this week. The news comes exactly three months after the Sportage First Edition was launched, which caused quite a stir with the public and the Car Dealer team alike. Kia’s familiar 1, 2 and 3 trim designations will all feature [...]

KIA and Peugeot have bucked the market downturn in the September new car sales figures. A total of 47,523 cars have been sold by Kia over the last 12 months – a 36.6 per cent increase over last year when 34,777 were sold. Retail sales for the year up to the end of September totaled [...]

DEMAND for an early-release batch of diesel Kia Sportage has encouraged the firm to bring in more. This time, 300 petrol-engined versions of the model have been secured. The 2.0 AWD First Edition again comes several months ahead of the car’s volume launch; retailing for £19,495, Kia says it is in response to being ‘swamped’ [...]

KIA has been voted as the best franchise in the business a new survey into what dealers think has revealed. The Retail Motor Industry Franchise Dealer Attitude Survey showed that Kia dealers ranked the franchise first or equal-first in 14 out of 32 areas of business, and amongst the top five in almost every part [...]

KIA will be recalling certain Soul and Sorento models over a fire risk, Car Dealer can reveal. A problem that manifested itself in the US has found certain cars with ‘mood lighting’ are a potential fire risk. Only 73 Souls sold in the UK are affected as the mood lighting option wasn’t one of the [...]

WHEN car makers lend new models to the press they hope the coverage they receive will result in sales. But can they ever actually directly link lending a car to a motoring hack with a signed order form? Well, Kia can now… Our Sportage – on long term loan from the manufacturer since July – [...]

MEET the Sportage – a Kia that costs £20,777. We can hear the sucking of air through teeth from here – and we agree: Yes, that does sound a bit rich. But the manufacturer has form here. Take Kia’s recently launched Sortento SUV as an example. The BMW X5-sized model is selling out in the [...]

MORGAN has snared the headlines in our podcast this week with the reveal of the dramatic new Eva GT. We cover its surprise reveal at the Pebble Beach car show in the US, and show just what a headturner it actually is. Closet to home, there’s news of Kia’s cool Paris Motor Show concept car, [...]

KIA has changed one word in its 7 year warranty ad campaign to comply with an official ruling from the ASA. Instead of saying ‘Terms and conditions apply’, the small print will now read ‘Terms and exclusions apply’. The words will also be shown on screen for the duration of the TV ad. Kia has [...]

KIA is hoping to develop the brand’s leaders of tomorrow with a new graduate training scheme. The firm is looking to recruit 5 postgrad students on 12 month contracts. Graduates will be recruited later this year, to work across the brand and help support the growing UK operations. It will also boslter the business in [...]

ASKING me whether the new Kia Sportage is a cool car could be seen to be a rather unwise thing to do. I mean, anyone who knows me will be aware of my dubious tastes in all-things 1950s, and that I have no idea who Justin Timberland is. A music chap, apparently – I thought [...]

ASE Dealermatch has just secured Tunbridge Wells Kia and SEAT for Waters Retail Group in a strategic deal. The deal, which was for an undisclosed sum, sees Waters Retail take over the retailers from Humphries & Parks Limited. Humphries & Parks does, however, retain its existing Mitsubishi West Malling business. Waters CEO, Darren Payne, said: [...]

The most reliable car in the UK is also the one with the longest new car warranty reveals a new survey. The Kia Picanto has come out top in what Which? Cars describes as ‘the UK’s largest reliability survey’. It has a reliability score of 98.1 percent, half a percent ahead of the next most [...]

THE new Kia Sportage goes on sale today – but dealers will only have 800 to sell until later in November! A special ‘First Edition’ model will be the only car available with 4WD, 2.0-litre diesel engine and costing £20,777. In November they will be joined by the 2WD 1.6-litre petrol and 1.7-litre diesel models [...]

KIA has expanded to the St Helens area courtesy of a new car dealer site from growing group Chapelhouse. The group already runs 6 multi-franchise locations in the St Helens, Warrington and Southport area – with 7 car makers represented. So why Kia? ‘We’ve been monitoring Kia’s continued growth and are delighted to have been [...]

KIA is continuing its big product drive with an all-new Sportage next month – that is coming to the UK earlier than expected. The new compact SUV arrives in Kia dealers this August, sooner than Kia dealers were first told thanks to an earlier start in RHD production. To mark this, Kia is launching a [...]

WHEN is a negative sales figure a positive news story? When you’re Kia, that’s when! Let us explain.. In the SMMT sales figures this month Kia has posted registrations down 16 per cent on June 2009. But there’s an interesting story behind those numbers. Kia sales director Yaser Shabsogh called Car Dealer Magazine this week [...]

MARSHALL Motor Group has just announced the opening of its second Kia car dealer business in Bedford. A £300,000 upgrade of its premises on Woburn Road in Bedford will provide facilities for Kia. Christopher Walkinshaw, business development director of Marshall, said: ‘We are delighted to be extending our relationship with Kia less than a year [...]