Five premieres for Kia at Frankfurt Motor Show

WEYBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM – September 2, 2009: To celebrate the world premiere of the all-new Kia Venga at the 63rd Frankfurt International Motor Show on 15 September, Kia Motors will be displaying five examples of its uniquely spacious and dynamic B-segment MPV – in a special ‘Venga’ zone throughout the 13-day event.

The Venga heads an impressive Kia line-up that will include the re-engineered and re-styled Kia cee’d, the all-new Kia Sorento SUV (with up to seven seats), the new ‘EcoDynamics’ sub-brand and the first showing in Europe of Kia’s new Forte LPI Hybrid sedan.

“Kia’s exciting presence at Frankfurt will embody five premieres and highlight our brand’s stylish design, creative engineering and world-class build quality, for all the world to see,” enthuses Mr Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation.

“Throughout the current global economic downturn Kia products have maintained their appeal to consumers and enabled us to increase our market share in many regions. I am confident that next year in Europe, the new Venga, new cee’d and new Sorento will spearhead a successful sales drive to attract more newcomers to our brand,” added President Lee.

‘Uniquely spacious’ Kia Venga
Kia’s all-new Venga B-segment car features a wheelbase of 2,615 mm, unusually long for it’s class, and a 1,600 mm high roofline to maximise cabin space. Skilful packaging will ensure the Venga redefines its class by offering levels of interior space typical of a larger C-segment vehicle, but within a B-segment footprint.

Designed, engineered and manufactured in Europe, the latest Kia will be equipped with a sliding rear seat that also folds flat into the floor to create a spacious cargo bay and, depending on model, a tilt-&-slide all-glass panoramic roof.

Every engine in the Venga line-up will be available with Kia’s fuel-stretching ISG (Intelligent Stop & Go) technology and will comply with Euro 5 emission standards. Venga will be marketed exclusively in Europe and offered with a choice of 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre engines, both in petrol and diesel formats, generating between 75 and 126 ps.

‘New look’ for best-selling Kia cee’d range
Kia’s top-selling model in Europe has been thoroughly re-engineered and re-styled under the direction of Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer. The ‘new look’ Kia cee’d is 25 mm longer, will have a more distinctive appearance and a stronger road presence.

Comprehensively updated, the new Kia cee’d range will deliver a host of customer benefits, with numerous exterior and interior design refinements, plus upgraded standard equipment. Inside, buyers will enjoy a new-style steering wheel and gear lever, all-red dashboard illumination, new centre stack and audio system and dual-zone climate control.

Technical innovations enhance the driving experience while also significantly reducing fuel consumption and cutting CO2 emissions – down to a ‘estimated low’ of 110 g/km and by an average of 5 per cent across the cee’d line-up.

New cee’d will be available with ISG technology on both petrol and diesel engines for the first time, whilst a hill-holder function will be added to the ESC system and brighter projection-style headlamps. The new ‘U2’ 1.6-litre diesel engine will be matched to a new six-speed manual transmission.

‘Stand-out’ styling for all-new Kia Sorento
The all-new five- or seven-seater Kia Sorento SUV is longer and lower, with futuristic styling and a bold sense of power and dynamism, incorporating Kia’s new design DNA into its ‘stand-out’ looks. New Sorento is a ‘Highline Cruiser’ that features a much more spacious and luxurious cabin. Available high-tech features will include: keyless entry, engine start button, safety reversing camera and a panoramic glass sunroof.

Kia engineers have replaced the body-on-frame structure and designed an all-new monocoque bodyshell – achieving a weight loss of up to 215 kg and greatly improved refinement. The 4.7-metre long SUV is also significantly sleeker than the previous model with an aerodynamic drag figure of Cd 0.38.

The most popular engine choice in Europe is expected to be the all-new 2.2-litre diesel which produces 197 ps. It will be offered with a six-speed manual or Kia’s all-new world-class six-speed automatic transmission. New Sorento’s ride and handling balance has been biased more towards European on-road driving styles, without diminishing the original model’s renowned off-road talents.

Introduction of Kia’s ‘EcoDynamics’ sub-brand
The Frankfurt Motor Show will mark the world premiere of Kia’s new ‘EcoDynamics’ sub-brand – the name which will be applied to the most eco-friendly cars within each Kia model range, as innovative fuel-stretching and emissions-cutting technologies are progressively introduced.

The EcoDynamics vehicles at the show will be equipped with ISG to automatically switch off and then restart the engine in congested city driving, a power-saving alternator management system, a gear-shift up/down indicator to encourage an economical driving style and low rolling resistance Michelin tyres.

Future EcoDynamics vehicles will also feature additional C02 and pollutant reducing technologies such as streamlined body parts, alternative fuel capabilities, high-efficiency transmissions and hybrid, electric or fuel-cell powertrains.

While delivering significant environmental benefits, Kia’s EcoDynamics vehicles will retain a sporty design, fun-to-drive performance and a strong appeal for the young-at-heart. The ‘EcoDynamics’ zone at Frankfurt will display three new models – the Forte LPI Hybrid, Kia cee’d Hybrid and Kia Sorento Hybrid.

Kia Forte LPI Hybrid
Kia has transported a Forte LPI Hybrid to Europe for the first time to preview an extensive ‘real world’ research programme it will undertake in 2010. Although the C-segment Forte is not marketed in Europe, next year Kia is planning to operate a test fleet of 36 Forte LPI Hybrid cars across the region. The fleet will be used to assess the feasibility of large-scale commercialisation of LPI hybrids for the future.

This new model, which is already on sale to the public in Korea, is powered by a 114 ps, 1.6-litre engine running on liquid petroleum gas, mated to a hybrid powertrain with a 15 kW, 105 Nm electric motor, a 180V lithium polymer battery pack and a CVT gearbox, fuel-stretching ISG and ‘regenerative braking’ to re-charge its power pack. Aerodynamic drag is reduced to just Cd 0.26, fuel consumption is lowered to 50.4 mpg and C02 emissions are only 99 g/km.

Hybrid power for new-look Kia cee’d and new Kia Sorento
Also making their first appearance at Frankfurt are the new-look Kia cee’d Hybrid and the new Kia Sorento Hybrid concept cars. Created at Kia’s European R&D Centre as research ‘tools’, these vehicles will be tested over many thousands of kilometres across Europe and will generate data for inclusion in the design process of Kia vehicles during the next decade.

The new-look cee’d Hybrid powertrain is similar to the Forte, but the 1.6-litre engine runs on petrol. The New Sorento Hybrid is powered by an all-new powertrain, with Kia’s new U2 1.6-litre diesel engine fitted with twin-turbochargers to generate more than 163 ps (120 kW). The diesel engine is mated to an electric motor and drives the front wheels via a new double-clutch transmission offering a choice of fully-automatic, or manual sequential gear changes. C02 emissions are reduced to just 119 g/km.