Kia “cee’d” concept

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Cee...ya in Geneva

New Kia “cee’d” concept points to future C segment class car

After the Picanto, Sorento, Sportage and Rio models, Kia is going to give it a shot at the very popular C segment class with an all new compact hatchback. We are going to get a taste of the car at the Geneva Show with the concept “cee’d”.

The forthcoming compact passenger car, codenamed “E.D.” (European Developed?) is
designed specifically for the European market and it will be produced at Kia’s new plant in Slovakia. According to my information, the “cee’d” will be taking the European roads at the end of 2006 competing against cars like Ford Focus, Opel Astra and the Volkswagen Golf. It is also speculated that in 2007, the compact hatchback will be available in the US and the Asian markets

PRESS RELEASE: (SEOUL) February 16, 2006 -- Kia Motors will unveil an exciting new concept car at the 76^th Salon de l’Automobiles, in Geneva, Switzerland at the end of this month. The stunningly attractive, precisely styled show car, named cee’d (pronounced ‘seed’), is based on the forthcoming all-new C-segment model which Kia will begin building at its first-ever European assembly plant in Slovakia from December 2006.

With its tough appearance, combining strongly solid forms with sensitively flowing lines, jewel-like detailing and a broad stance, cee’d points towards the future elements of Kia’s evolving design language.

“Our design brief was to create a ‘teaser’ for the all-new Kia which has been designed entirely in Europe and will make its world premiere at the Paris Show in September,” explained Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Kia, European Design Centre. “We wanted to make cee’d as beautiful, as exquisitely detailed and precisely executed as possible. We wanted to introduce this concept as the starting point for the new design DNA for Kia, to highlight that this car is designed in Europe and made in Europe, to fulfill 100% of European customer needs.”

The cee’d has several of the core design elements of two earlier Kia cars -- the Sorento SUV and A-segment Picanto. With this concept car Kia is making these design elements even more understandable to the public. cee’d is a new stage in Kia design, the beginning of communicating its new design language.

cee’d features flowing lines carried through strong forms. The major flow-line runs from low on the nose spoiler, around the grill, over the bonnet, up the A-pillar, along the roof rail to the tailgate spoiler, down the C-pillar and around the rear bumper -- enveloping the whole car.

At the Geneva Show, cee’d is finished in ‘English Pewter’ bespoke exterior paint, blended to give the external surfaces a unique luster that is echoed by the interior. The concept car will be displayed on a low, rotating glass turntable so that visitors can fully appreciate the interior styling, as well as the exterior form. The extended, flared wheel arches envelop bespoke 19-inch diameter polished aluminum wheels sporting 265/30 R19 low-profile tires.

Full details of the cee’d concept car, the all-new Kia Carnival MPV and 2006 upgraded Sorento SUV will be available at the Kia press conference to be held on February 28 in Hall 5 at 12.30 hrs (local time).

The Geneva Show concept car is named cee’d for two reasons. ‘CEE’ to symbolize that both the concept and the forthcoming production model are ‘made in Europe’ with European consumers in mind. And to represent the ‘seed’ for future growth in Kia sales, which the new model will undoubtedly ensure.

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