Kia’s Venga EV is able to hit 0-62 mph in 11.8 seconds and a top speed of 87 mph. The electric motor is powered by two 24 kWh lithium ion polymer batteries, which allow the car to travel up to 112 miles (180 km) on a single charge. Once depleted, the batteries can be recharged to 80 percent capacity in 20 minutes with a rapid charger or fully recharged in eight hours with a normal charger.

ELECTRIC VENGA CONCEPT PLUGS IN FOR KIA AT GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

Venga EV represents Kia Motors’ continuing commitment to earth-positive R&D and marks an additional dimension in the company’s development of eco-friendly vehicles.

The next generation Kia Magentis (Known as the Optima in USA) will make its public world premiere at the New York International Auto Show on Friday 2 April 2010.

A fresh design from the ground up, Kia’s all-new version of its popular mid-size saloon is completely transformed and embodies a bold, athletic and sporty visual energy.

Longer, lower and wider than the previous model, the new Magentis features a significantly longer wheelbase and will offer considerably more space for both people and luggage.

The new Magentis will go on sale in the USA and in non-European markets – where it is known as Optima – from autumn 2010, while sales in Europe are expected to begin in the Spring of 2011. No on-sale date for the UK has yet been announced – keep an eye on www.kia.co.uk for details in due course.

The world premiere of the next generation Magentis will take place at the Kia Stand on Level 1 of the ‘Jacob Javits Center’ located between 34-39 Streets on 11th Avenue in New York City.

Looking in part like the Forte met George Jetson’s hovercar, the Ray features a huge four-door design which pops open wide enough to allow easy access to the rear compartment.

Suicide doors on a Kia? We like!

Targeted to the eco-conscious, the Ray Concept has a driving range of 746 miles (1,200 km). It can travel 50 miles (80.5 km) on electric power alone plus a fuel economy rating of more than 202 miles per gallon (1.2 l/100km).

Powering the Ray Concept is a direct injection 153 hp (114 kW) 1.4-litre engine mated to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) in addition to a 78kw electric motor. Depending on driving conditions, power is routed to the front wheels via the gasoline engine while the electric motor pushes the rear wheels, or both simultaneously.

Based on the Kia Forte platform the Ray Concept features a streamlined body for reduced aerodynamic drag. This is particularly noticeable in the long tail with U-shaped deck lid which extends out from the rear at higher speeds for improved aerodynamics. Despite the “mono-volume shape” the Ray Concept still manages to convey some striking curves topped off by an aggressive snake face front end.

The Source: WorldCarFans

Super Bowl is a time for food, beer, and big sweaty guys jumping on top of one another…and that’s just happening in your living room! It’s also a time for million-dollar commercials. It’s reported 30 seconds during “The Big Game” will cost One-MILLION-dollars! Muahahahahhaa! Kia must have dropped $2M on this 60 second spot for the 2010 Kia Sorento, featuring some favorite childhood memories, including a classic toy robot and Sock Monkey!

KIA LOOKS TO THE PLUG-IN FUTURE WITH “RAY” CONCEPT AT CHICAGO SHOW

As Governments and motorists keep up the interest levels in an electric-car future Kia Motors Corporation has revealed the first preview rendering of its latest concept car – called Ray – which will make its global debut at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show next month.

Styled by the team at Kia Design Centre America, the Kia Ray project was undertaken to demonstrate how Kia’s evolving design direction would be applied in the packaging of a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

The actual car will form the centre-piece of the Kia Motors America display at Chicago and the vehicle will contribute to Kia’s on-going development of alternative-fuel vehicles.

Already Kia has pioneered potentially real-life fuel cell vehicles and has working prototypes operating in California and Korea. Additionally Kia has various hybrid-engined vehicles providing real-world data in various locations and plans to commercialize Liquefied Petroleum Gas hybrid vehicles in Korea within the next 12 months.

Currently no date has been set for hybrid Kia models to be put on sale in the UK but on-road testing of petrol and diesel hybrid vehicles is due to start in Britain this year.

The Kia Motors press conference for the 2010 Chicago Auto Show will be staged at 1:30 p.m. on February 11, 2010.

Kia Press Release via WCF

Just how similar are the two small, hatchback-like vehicles? Well, they are both owned, in a sense, by General Motors. But what else? Let’s have a look:

Upon first glance, there are many similar design aspects between Granite and Soul. Of course, Soul has already been in production over a year – where GMC’s “Utility Vehicle” is only in production phase. It’s not uncommon to see different auto makers steal…I mean share designs. Example: Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, and to some extent the upcoming Chevy Volt. But let’s look at the facts: “Prices at $13,300, the Soul base model comes with a 122-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cyl – no automatic transmission is offered with the base engine. The other three Soul trim levels come with a 142-horsepower, 2.0-liter four cyl and a choice of the five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. At its highest price ($18,900) you are still under $20K for the total Sports version with all available options.”

As for Granite – “Power for the Granite concept comes from a 1.4L turbocharged engine that is part of GM’s new family of small-displacement, highly efficient four-cylinder engines. It is matched with a six-speed transmission.” No word on pricing, but we are guessing Granite won’t break out of the $20 – 25,000 mark, if it wants to stay competitive anyway.

One major difference with Soul & Granite – Kia hasn’t taken the idea of suicide doors under consideration. But at 2010’s NAIAS rear-hung doors seem to be quite an eye-catcher. Whether or not they will remain in a final, practical, release model you’ll just have to wait and see.

Inside, the Granite concept dash looks more like something Harrison Ford should be piloting. Both Kia and GMC really enhance the appearance and usability of their interior compartments. Even base models of lower-end vehicles retain some sort of classy styling inside – materials cost money, but cool ideas are free flowing. We’ll wait and see what Granite ends up looking like, and how it will truly compare to Kia’s Soul.

We almost left 2009 and missed this promotional skit back in May, when Cartoon Network and Kia got together to deck out a Soul complete with Aqua Teen Hunger Force graffiti. And what a great idea – gathering the youth market who stay up late and watche AquaTeen, Cowboy Bebop and The Boondocks… and getting their parents to buy them a new Kia. Graffiti artist Hense and was in charge of tagging the Kia Soul featuring Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Master Shake and Meatwad.

Master Shake may be the most badass neighbor any guy living near the Jersey Shore ever had – and having him crawling across the hood of your 2009 Kia Soul would be an honor.

At a starting price of $18,195, It comes with rally-inspired skin painted Ignition Orange and wearing offset black racing stripes. There’s also black 18-inch wheels with machined accents, a sunroof, and an alloy fuel-filler door.

Inside, Ignition Soul has black cloth seats with Soul print on the backrests, an upgraded stereo with six speakers, a subwoofer, a 315-watt amp, and seizure-inducing speaker lights that pulse with the beat of the music. An iPod connection cable and Bluetooth round out the stereo upgrades.

Kia’s chief designer Peter Schreyer unveiled this sketch of a car referred to as “K9″ at a conference near Seoul last Friday. Schreyer is best known for designing the original Audi TT when he was still at Audi, is said to have compared the car’s design prowess to that of the Audi A8 and BMW 7 Series. Kia’s plans include a luxury sedan codenamed the CH, which is scheduled for launch around 2011 and is the sister car to Hyundai’s Genesis sedan.

via WCF

The Georgia factory employs over 2500 workers so far, and has a top capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year. “The start of production at our first manufacturing facility in the United States further demonstrates our commitment to growth in North America and we are proud to be adding 2,500 jobs to the local economy,” said B.M. Ahn, President and CEO, Kia Motors America. Check out a full press release below.

Kia Motors’ first US-built vehicle, a white all-new Sorento, has rolled off the production line at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), officially opening the company’s first US production plant.

Kia now has production facilities in Korea – at Hwasung, Sohari and Kwangju as well as a joint-project facility close to Hwasung – in Slovakia and in China plus CKD operations in a number of Asian and African countries plus Russia. Total global production capacity currently stands at 2.56 million vehicles per year with the opening of Georgia. That figures is comprised of 1.53 million in Korea, 430,000 in China, 300,000 in Slovakia and now 300,000 in the US.