Interesting facts about the 2012 Kia Rio:

Interesting facts about the 2012 Kia Rio: First unveiled at Geneva Auto Show earlier this year, the all-new 2012 Kia Rio hatchback joins the carmaker’s product range with striking exterior design, revised interior and impressive performance.
The fourth-generation Rio sub-compact car will be available in two body-styles for the first time. The five-door model is set to go on sale in Europe in several weeks, while the three-door Rio arrives at Kia dealerships in early 2012.
The 2012 Kia Rio is available with a highly efficient 1.1L CRDI diesel engine that emits only 85 grams of CO2 per kilometer. U.S. market Rio is available with a highly-advanced 1.6L GDI four-cylinder engine that churns out 138 horsepower and achieves 40-mpg on highway. Six-speed automatic and 6-speed manual transmissions are available.
The new Rio is noticeably larger than the car it replaces. Its wheelbase is 70mm longer, while the body is 20mm longer and 25mm wider. Inside the Rio offers 45mm more front legroom and seven percent more luggage room than its predecessor.
Safety features available in the 2012 Rio include six airbags, anti-lock brake system -ABS, three-point seatbelts for all seating positions, electronic stability control -ESC, hill-start assist control, vehicle stability management system -VSM, active front seat head restraints and emergency stop signal.

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Kia Motors’ West Point, Georgia plant reaches a milestone with the production of 300,000th vehicle…

Kia Motors’ West Point, Georgia plant reaches a milestone with the production of 300,000th vehicle…
Kia Motors America has announced that it has produced the 300.000 vehicles in its West Point, Georgia plant. This milestone comes less than two years after production of the Kia Sorento began at the KMMG on Nov 16, 2009.
Since its opening, the KMMG plant has added two shifts, and hired more than 1000 new team members, taking the total number of employed at the plant to more than 3,000. In addition, the plant’s auto parts suppliers have also hired more than 7.500 individuals and added to the local economy.

The plant will start producing the acclaimed 2012 Kia Optima mid-sized sedan later this year. Apart from Optima, there are other projects underway that will increase the annual capacity of the plant to 360.000 vehicles by 2012. Apart from the 2012 Kia Sorento, the plant also produces the Hyundai Santa Fe sport utility vehicle.

Byung Mo Ahn, CEO of Kia Motors America (KMA) and KMMG, was noted that the addition of two shifts and the plans to produce Optima at the plan underlie the aggressive goals of the company. He acknowledged the contribution of every team member in the achievements of the plant. “The completion of our 300,000th vehicle in less than two years is another historic milestone for KMMG, and the success of the plant is attributable to each team members’ commitment to outstanding quality,” he said.
The company had marked the production of its 50.000th vehicle in April 2010, and that of its 100.000th vehicle in last September. That was when it had only a single shift at the plant; with the launch of two more shifts, the production has gone into overdrive. With cars from Kia selling like hot cakes in the dealerships across the country, the plant is now well placed to meet the new demand. [Source: Kia] Find more about 2012 Kia Sorento here…

Congratulations Samuel and Jennifer Peters...

Congratulations Samuel and Jennifer Peters on the purchase of their 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. Thanks to both of you... From your friends at Lifetime Kia..

Kia and Hyundai are No. 1 in US for mid-size cars 

With their combined sales figures, the South Korean carmakers Kia and Hyundai have topped the mid-size segment in the United States. This milestone was reached this May, when Hyundai and Kia sold 30.155 cars, among which were 22.754 Sonatas from Hyundai and 7.401 Optimas from Kia.
The two companies had topped the sales figures for March too, and with the latest numbers, their dominance in mid-size car segment is pointing at a new trend in the market. Already, the two manufacturers have captured about 19.0 percent of the mid-size sedan market, compared to the second place manufacturer GM, which has 18.8 percent of the market.
Hyundai and Kia have long had a reputation of cheap cars, but with the latest rankings, experts aver that the old attitudes towards the two manufacturers are changing. A company representative noted that, the ranking signifies that U.S. consumers no long consider Hyundai and Kia to be low-end car brands.

The mid-size segment is one of the most important car segments in the industry, trailing only the compact cars segment in sales volume. Local American and Japanese manufacturers such as GM and Toyota, respectively, have long dominated this segment, so the latest dominance of the Korean companies is another new trend.
In the year 2009, Toyota was the biggest seller in the midsize segment, selling a whopping 21.8 percent of all cars sold in the segment. It was followed by Honda at 17.5 percent and Nissan at 12.4 percent. At 9.6%, Hyundai and Kia had a combined share of less than 10%.
Making some fundamental changes in their marketing efforts, Hyundai and Kia promoted their top cars such as Sonata and Optima, with the result that their market share rose to about 13.1 percent in 2010. Toyota’s dominance lessened, with a reduced market share of 19.2%. Honda and Nissan were still selling more cars than Hyundai and Kia, with a market share of 16.6% and 13.4% respectively.
The trend of more sales for the Korean companies continued in 2011 too. One unexpected event that allowed Hyundai and Kia to catch-up in 2011 was the unfortunate March earthquake and Tsunami, which disrupted the supply lines of Japanese car manufacturers, including Honda and Nissan.
Hyundai and Kia expect that their car sales will rise in other segments of the industry too. For the first time ever, Hyundai and Kia share more than 10 percent of the U.S. market, a landmark that was achieved in May. In another interesting news for the group, Hyundai Motor was selected as the best car manufacturer by the British consumer rights group “Which?” by beating Toyota and BMW, among others.