Kia growth spurs on plans for 2006 |
| 09 Jan 2006 |
Kia's record-breaking growth continued in 2005 laying the foundations for the final stage of redevelopment of the entire Kia product range by the end of 2006.
In a market down 5%, Kia achieved a 19% increase with sales finishing at 39,761 year-on-year putting them ahead of popular consumer brands such as Seat, Fiat and Volvo.
The Picanto, Kia's best seller in 2005 with 12,761 units, originally announced the arrival of a new generation of Kia vehicles back in June 2004 and was swiftly followed by an overhaul of design for Sportage and Rio and the introduction of Cerato to the range.
The final phase of the successful re-launch programme starts in 2006, with the public launch of Magentis in spring available for the first time with a 2.0-litre diesel engine, and is followed by a complete redesign of Kia's MPV range.
Frequently the nation's favourite MPV since its introduction in 1999, Kia is bringing the all new 7-seater Sedona to the UK market in the summer time which is then followed by the replacement of Kia's mid-sized MPV, the Carens. The Carens presents the most radical design departure from its predecessor and will make its worldwide debut at the Madrid Motor Show.
Kia's best sellers in 2005 were Picanto (12,761), Sedona (5,865), Sorento (5,269) and Sportage (4,730).
Kia Revises Sportage Diesel Engine
Kia has made significant changes to the performance of its diesel Sportage, giving the 4x4 a substantial 25% increase in power and torque and introducing a new Euro IV compliant engine.
Sportage now benefits from a 6-speed transmission mated to a revised 2.0-litre variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) four-cylinder engine that sees an increase in power from 111 bhp to 138 bhp @ 4,000 rpm. Torque is also increased from 245 Nm to 305 Nm at 1,800 - 2,500 rpm.
Combined fuel economy and CO2 figures remain unchanged at 39.8 mpg and 187 g/km respectively. Urban and extra-urban performance is only slightly revised with the urban figure rising to 31.7 mpg and extra-urban output reduced to 45.6 mpg. |
| This news is supplied by Car News (http://www.car-news.co.uk/) |
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