Kia Motors Corporation hosted the Official Opening Ceremony of its all-new European Headquarters in Frankfurt last week before an invited audience of more than 250 VIP guests. Built alongside the famous Messe Frankfurt trade fair complex in the very heart of the city, Kia’s new headquarters building represents an investment of €74 million and is the company’s most prominent demonstration of its long-term commitment to creating a successful future as a major automotive force in Europe.
Speaking after a tour of the new building, President and CEO Kia Motors Corporation, Mr Euisun Chung commented, “I am delighted to witness the completion of our new European Headquarters building and to see for myself what a distinctive and tasteful landmark it will become for our brand at the centre of this thriving city. These new headquarters will allow us to keep closely in touch with the developing needs and tastes of European consumers and to deliver to them vehicles and services best suited to their changing lifestyles.”
The 57-metre high, 10-storey Kia headquarters has more than 27,000 sqm of floorspace, with two underground car parking floors, and houses Kia’s Pan-European sales, marketing and after-sales operations, plus a sales academy, technical service centre and a spacious ground-floor lobby where cars can be displayed. The headquarters will accommodate a total of 350 Kia staff and 200 staff from affiliated groups in Europe.
Four floors are dedicated to the new independent Design Centre, design studios, modelling workshops and paint facilities, plus a special presentation room featuring a retractable roof for viewing prototypes and concepts under natural light. The design team for the new Kia headquarters was led by two principle architects – Mr Yutata Omehara (Japan) and Mr Jochen Holzwarth (Germany).
