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Kia win three design awards in Automotive Brand Contest 2012

Kia win three design awards in Automotive Brand Contest 2012

By on 02/08/2012 in News

Kia has won three design awards in the Automotive Brand Contest 2012, the latest of a series of honours for the Korean brand’s design team headed by Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer.

The new Kia cee’d – launched in June 2012 – triumphed in the exterior category and also received an honorary special mention for exceptional innovation in the interior category.

In addition, the high profile jury selected the Kia GT as the winner of the concept award.  The rear-wheel drive sports sedan design study celebrated its world premiere in September 2011 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The Automotive Brand Contest, which was held for the first time in 2011, has become an internationally recognised competition.  It is open to car manufacturers, automotive parts suppliers and companies delivering design and brand communications services to the automotive industry.  There are a total of 16 awards categories, covering vehicle design, parts and accessories, technology, digital, branding and events activities.

Kia Awards

This year’s two Kia award winners are key models for the brand.  The second generation of the cee’d, Kia’s best-selling model in Europe, features styling typically found on a sporty coupe, but offers the space and functionality of a five-door hatch.  Its upmarket exterior design boasts a chrome-framed glasshouse and muscular lines on the bonnet, complemented inside by an ergonomic, driver-oriented control panel and refined interior, all backed by Kia’s industry-leading seven year  warranty.

The Kia GT design study was inspired by 1970s grand tourers, and combines supple, muscular proportions with a sophisticated, elegant four-seat interior.  It offers a glimpse into Kia’s future design philosophy.

The Automotive Brand Contest 2012 award presentation ceremony will be held at the Paris Motor Show on Automotive Designers’ Night, 27 September 2012.

Kia Motors received several accolades at last year’s inaugural Automotive Brand Contest, winning the Best of the Best award in the brand design category, while Kia’s Sportage, Rio and Optima models all claimed victories in the exterior category.

The Automotive Brand Contest is organised by the Rat für Formgebung (German Design Council), which was founded in 1953 as an initiative of the German Federal Parliament and today counts among the world’s leading competence centres for communication and knowledge transfer in the field of design.  It counts amongst its members 170 companies from around the world.  The Rat für Formgebung also organises the competition for the “Designpreis Deutschland”, Germany’s highest official design award.

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Kia named Best Car Manufacturer by Which?

Kia named Best Car Manufacturer by Which?

By on 22/06/2012 in News

Which? has named Kia as its Best car Manufacturer for 2012 in its annual awards, praising the company’s “superb new range of cars” as well as the brand’s excellent value for money and “industry-leading” seven year warranty.

Presenting the award, Which? Chief Executive, Peter Vicary-Smith said: “This is the first time Kia has made the short-list and to walk off with the title is a significant achievement.”

Kia wins the title at its first attempt

Which? Praise superb cars, value and market-leading seven year warranty

Which? members rate Kia for satisfaction and reliability

He went on to praise Kia for being one of the top ranked brands in the 2012 Which? Car survey for both customer satisfaction and reliability. Kia beat off competition from BMW, Hyundai, Skoda and Toyota to take the prize.

Which? said in its commendation: “Kia’s new Rio, Sorento and Picanto have all impressed in our Test Lab, while the new cee’d and Optima get the thumbs-up from our initial road tests. Compared to where it was just five years ago, we feel that Kia is the most improved car brand around.”

Kia Motors (UK) Limited Managing Director Michael Cole said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award – especially at the first attempt. It marks the culmination of several years of hard work by our designers, engineers and by our dealers who are as committed as we are to give our customers an outstanding buying and ownership experience. We see this as a great honour as Which? has a long history of championing the consumer and being remarkably thorough in its testing process.”

Which? is the UK’s biggest not-for-profit consumer organisation, now more than 50 years old, and has a strong record in recommending only thoroughly tested products to its more than one million subscriber base. It seeks to advise its subscribers and campaigns top improve safety and fairness.