Report: Honda Threatened by the Rise of the Koreans

If there is one Japanese company that can lay claim to having a reputation for innovation and advanced engineering, it is Honda.

It is a reputation built over more than 30 years, starting from the first generation of the Civic in the ‘70s and continuing throughout the years with novelties such as VTEC, the futuristic first generation Insight hybrid back in 1999, the S2000's high-revving 120HP-per-liter engine, the first practical supercar, the NSX – and the list goes on.

However, something seems to have changed, and not for the better.

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Kia's US Sales Increase by 36% in the Second Quarter of 2011

Kia Motors’ global sales increased by 21% during the last quarter - that is from April to June- compared to the same period in 2010. South Korea’s second-largest carmaker sold 621,000 units in that period, largely due to the increase in US sales.

Kia’s progress in the American market was impressive as it recorded a 67% increase in profits and 36% in sales, largely due to the surge in sales of its new Optima sedan and Sportage SUV.

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Kia Wins “Best of Best” for Overall Design in German Contest

Kia walked away with no less than four awards from the inaugural Automotive Brand Contest organized by the German Design Council. The most important was that of “Best of Best” for overall brand design, acknowledging Kia’s new styling language.

The other three awards were won in the Exterior category by the latest Sportage, the Optima sedan and the new Rio.

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The Truth About the Relationship Between Hyundai and Kia

Hyundai and Kia have a strange, symbiotic relationship. They share factories, parts as well as engineering knowhow and product testing duties. And yet they remain separate entities with their own marketing, distribution and styling departments.

Michael Sprague, Kia’s VP for marketing and communication describes their relationships to the New York Times likes this:

“Kia Motors America operates as a completely separate sales, marketing and distribution organization in the United States. [Hyundai and Kia share engineering efficiencies] similar in many ways to other global automakers.”

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GM Agrees to Pay Korean Workers a Record Bonus of $6,140 Each and Increase Basic Salaries by 4.7%!

The South Korean division of General Motors has agreed to a record bonus payment for its employees following a partial strike last week. This was the first organized union strike to hit GM Korea in three years and it led to a production loss of 9,700 units.

The agreement between GM Korea and the union includes a raise of basic salaries by 4.7% and, more importantly, a $6,140 (6.5 million won) bonus to each worker.

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Rumors: Kia to Unveil V8 RWD Sports Car Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

During the past few years, Kia has completely transformed its image from a manufacturer of affordable, but rather unexceptional, cars to that of an automaker that offers a stylish and coherent range, thanks in no small part to the hiring of ex-VW Group designer Peter Schreyer. Now, however, it is moving in uncharted waters if a recent report from What Car is accurate. Read more »

Kia Hooks its Belgium CEO up to a Lie Detector to Dispel Doubts About 7 Year Warranty

If there’s one thing South Korea’s Kia does better than any other automaker, it is offering especially long warranties. In Belgium, for instance, the warranties across their entire range of vehicles extend to seven years.

That’s no mean feat, though intriguingly Kia Belgium have found that a lot of new car buyers believe the seven year warranty scheme is too good to be true. Either there’s a catch, or it doesn’t cover all Kia models, or there’s some extra charges that need to be paid first.

To counteract these rumours, and gain some additional customers, Kia Belgium hooked its General Manager Benoit Morrene up to a polygraph (lie detector) and let the general public ask him questions in an online, streamlining environment.

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Kia Celebrates 20 Years in the UK

Today, June 30, Kia celebrates the 20th anniversary since it sold its first ever car in the UK. In 1991, the small hatchback Pride was the only Kia model on sale in Britain and in that year, the company managed to sell just only 1,786 cars.

However, two decades is a very long time in the automotive industry. Since then Kia has changed remarkably on its way to become an important player on a global scale. In 2010, Kia sold a record 56,114 cars in the UK and, for the first time ever, more than 2 million units worldwide.

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Argentina Agrees to Allow Hyundai and Kia Imports for Peanuts – Literally…

Argentina’s exports for imports saga continues, with South Korean carmaker Hyundai agreeing to export peanuts, wine, biodiesel and soy flour to offset the US$91 million (€64 million) it added to Argentina’s growing trade deficit in 2010. Partner company / subsidiary Kia has agreed export white goods and plastics for their contribution.

The South American nation’s US$6 billion (€4.19 billion) trade deficit has already led to one Porsche distributor agreeing to export wine and olive products, while similar deals have been struck with carmakers Chery, GM, Peugeot-Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Fiat and Ford.

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Kia Reunites Joyride Characters for New 2012 Sorento Ad

Though not as successful as their music-loving hamster counterparts, Kia’s oddball cast of life-size children's characters from last year’s Joyride commercials are back for a new advertising campaign.

Muno, Sock Monkey, MR. X, the vintage robot and teddy bear will star in two new 30-second TV spots for the 2012 Sorento CUV. As with the original campaign, "Joyride 2" was created by David&Goliath, KMA's advertising agency of choice. The first commercial begins airing today and will be followed up by the second spot next month.

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Toyota Sales Plunge More than 33% in May, Chrysler Group up by 10%

The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result, Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148 units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.

General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.

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Kia Launches Soul Hamstar Special Edition in the U.S.

The success of the popular Hamster advertising campaign that promoted the Soul in the U.S. in 2010 inspired Kia to launch a new special edition model of its boxy crossover model. Previewed by the Hamstar concept at the 2011 SEMA show, the red and black 2011 Hamstar is the sixth special edition Soul. The car sports unique exterior graphics and interior refinements, including a 315-watt audio system with pulsing speaker lights. Read more »

Hyundai Set to Become Sixth Biggest Automaker in the U.S. In 2011

In the realm of U.S. automotive sales, 8% is a magic number. When an automaker hits 8%, they know they’ve become one of the big guns. Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, Dodge and Nissan have all made it, and 2011 is expected to be Hyundai’s year.

So sayeth market research firm Polk, and I’m tempted to agree. Hyundai and its partner-brand / internal rival Kia have steadily been evolving into truly world-class carmakers. They’re keenly priced, inoffensive to look at and comprehensively covered quality-wise – everything the vast majority of new car buyers want in this day and age.

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Kia’s Brand New 40mpg Optima Hybrid Priced from $27,250

Kia is ready to talk pricing on its first ever hybrid vehicle in the States, the all-new Optima Hybrid, which we first saw at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. A sister model to Hyundai’s Sonata Hybrid, with which is shares the same gasoline-electric powertrain, the Optima Hybrid will reach U.S. showrooms in June with a starting price of $26,500, not including a $750 destination and handling fee that lifts the cost to $27,250. By comparison, the hybrid version of the Sonata starts at $25,795, excluding destination charges. Read more »

Kia Officials Hint at New Premium RWD K9 Sedan Based on the Genesis

South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Co. is leaving no stone unturned in its quest for world domination. Having already pushed its Hyundai brand into new territories with the Genesis and Equus premium sedans as well as the sporty, rear-wheel drive Genesis Coupe, the Koreans now appear to be focusing on the company’s second brand, Kia.

We first heard rumors about a range topping Kia sedan referred to by most as the K9 in late 2009, but now, the word is coming from two company officials.

"We have an interest in all new models under development. A rear-wheel-drive premium sedan could be seen as a logical step from the Optima to the next level of Kia development," Kia Motors Australia COO Tony Barlow told Drive, an Australian car site. "It is far too early at this stage to be any more precise about the car but we will definitely maintain a watching brief,” he added.

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Kia Recalling Spectra Models Over Fears that the Fuel Tank May…Fall Off

South Korea’s Kia Motors said Friday it will recall certain Spectra LD vehicles from the 2004-2007 model year in the United States over a corrosion issue that could cause the fuel tank to fall from the car. The recall covers 58,322 Kia Spectra models build from November 7, 2003, through March 6, 2007, and sold or currently registered in states that rely heavily on road salt to melt ice in the winter. Read more »

2011 NYIAS: All-New 2012 Kia Rio5 Hatchback

Kia’s brand-new Rio small sedan was joined by the hatchback version of the sub compact model named Rio5 at this week’s New York Auto Show. Unlike the four-sedan that received its world premiere in the Big Apple, we got our first taste of the Rio5 at the Geneva Salon in March. The only visible styling changes over the European model, concern the colored turn signals up front and the market-specific trim options inside.

The 2012 Rio5 is available with a 1.6-liter GDI four-cylinder engine with the option of either a six-speed manual transmission or six-speed automatic. The direct-injection four-pot delivers 138 horsepower, and thanks to the addition of Kia’s ISG start-stop technology, it returns 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.

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2012 Kia Soul Subtly Refreshed, gains New 135HP 1.6-liter and 160HP 2.0-liter Engines

Just three years into its sales run, and the Kia Soul is getting fine tuned to improve its place in the market. Set to be unveiled at the New York Auto Show alongside the all-new Rio Sedan that we told you about in our previous post, the 2012 Soul comes with a number of technology and powertrain enhancements and some subtle design updates.

The cosmetic differences on the outside are limited to the new projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights, a redesigned bonnet, restyled front and rear bumpers, plus the new LED tail lamps. Inside, Kia updated its audio offerings and added the new ‘UVO’ in-car hands-free communication and infotainment system. There’s also a new Premium Package with heated front seats, leather seat trim, automatic climate control, and a navigation system.

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All-New 2012 Kia Rio Sedan for North America Breaks Cover

After rolling out the China market Kia K2 sedan at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday, the South Korean automaker exposed the sub-compact sedan’s North American sibling that will be sold under the Rio nameplate. Even though the K2 and Rio share the same underpinnings being the sedan versions of the all-new Rio hatchback, which was unwrapped in Geneva this past March, the two models get feature unique exterior designs.

The North American Rio sedan keeps the hatchback model’s front end styling with the large, almond-shaped headlights adding a new window line and a different rear end design. Same goes for the interior which is identical to the five-door model we saw in Geneva, sans the different trim and features.

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New Kia K2 is the China Market Rio Sedan

This pint-sized Optima lookalike is the new Kia K2 and it will make its world premiere at this week’s 2011 Shanghai Motor Show. It is the China market version of the upcoming Rio Sedan that will be revealed at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday. However, it remains to be seen if the two models will share the same look as Kia said the K2 was designed and engineered specifically for the Chinese market. Read more »