Posts Tagged ‘Kia’
Report: Kia Cancels Plans for Soul’ster Production
Kia made a big splash at the 2009 North American International Auto Show when it unveiled the funky Soul’ster Concept. Despite its polarizing 2-door open-top SUV design that harks back to the Suzuki X90, the Soul’ster was received very well by the media and public, and rumours surfaced of production intent in the near future. Well, according to Ward’s Auto, Kia has now cancelled its plans to build the Soul’ster for production.
In order for Kia to green-light a production Soul’ster, Orth Hedrick, director of product planning, stated “You have to have broader appeal” to justify the development time and money it would take to bring the model to market. He added that a production Soul’ster would be an “almost all-new vehicle,” due to structural and weight differences from the current Soul.
“The business case is really what we have to keep studying all the time,” said Hedrick, noting developing and selling Soul variants would be a challenge, “especially in this environment.”
In the interview conducted by Ward’s Auto, Hedrick also stated that the Soul will undergo styling changes to the front and rear, as well as receive more up-level content, for the mid-cycle change in 2012.
[Source: Ward's Auto]
Stay tuned for more information.
New Video of 2011 Hyundai Avante (Elantra) Surfaces
Hyundai held an official test-drive event of the all-new 2011 Avante (Elantra) for journalists in Pyeongchang, South Korea today. We are awaiting more official photos from the automaker before we put up our post of the event. If pictures speak a thousand words, how can we describe the gorgeous high-definition video above, brought to you by CarMStyle? Flick on the 720p HD option and the stunning body lines and curves of the new Avante might just come to life. Enjoy!
[Source: CarMStyle]
Hyundai-Kia Beats Toyota in Europe and China
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group outsold Toyota in Europe in the first half of the year, and has also beaten the Japanese carmaker in China, the world’s largest auto market.
According to a report released Wednesday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Hyundai’s sales jumped 28 percent on-year to 328,000 units in the January to June period, and Kia’s 76 percent to 160,000 units.
Their combined sales reached a record high of 488,000 units. If the current trend continues, Hyundai-Kia is likely to achieve its sales target for the year of one million units (Hyundai 670,000 and Kia 330,000) in China.
Toyota outperformed other Japanese carmakers with sales of 362,000 vehicles in China, up 27 percent from the previous year, but it sold 126,000 units less than the Korean automotive group.
Hyundai-Kia has been pulling ahead of Toyota in major global markets except for North America. It sold a combined 329,000 units in Europe in the first six months, 3,000 more than Toyota’s 326,000.
[Source: The Chosun Ilbo]
Kia Picanto Tops British Reliability Survey
The Kia Picanto has topped Britain’s most reliable new car survey in consumer magazine Which?. Which? Car, the British equivalent to America’s Consumer Reports, has just published its annual reliability survey which is based on Which? members’ feedback. The Picanto, Kia’s oldest car introduced in 2004, was scored highly in reliability amongst cars up to three years old and was one of the top five in the four to eight years old category.
Achieving a reliability score of 98.1%, the Kia Picanto beat off established rivals from Japanese and European brands to take the accolade.
Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive, Which?, said: “You don’t expect a new car to go wrong – but our rigorous research shows there’s a big difference between the best and worst. Some small cars, particularly Korean and Japanese superminis, run like clockwork. Whereas some bigger cars, which you might expect to be more robust, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”
Michael Cole, managing director of Kia Motors UK, said the feedback shows how dependable the car is. “The Picanto has been our best-seller since it was introduced and for it to receive this praise at this stage of its life is confirmation of our efforts to deliver high quality products to our customers at a fair price – something we shall continue to do in the future,” he said.
[Source: Which?]
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