Kia Motors Corporation has revealed first ‘preview images’ of its exciting new Kia pro_cee’d three-door hatchback model which will make its World Premiere at this year’s Frankfurt International Motor Show on September 11. It is the third model in the cee’d family of cars, which was designed in Europe and will be made in Slovakia, at the Kia Motors Slovakia plant.
Based closely on the earlier concept car shown at the Paris Motor Show in 2006, the new production model has been developed by Kia’s design team in Europe under the direction of Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer.
“Longer, lower and lighter than its five-door sister car, the new Kia pro_cee’d is going to be a great drive,” enthused Mr. Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. “Combining real style and genuine practicality, our new three-door cee’d is sure to delight existing Kia customers and attract a new group of European consumers who have not yet considered our brand.”
The pro_cee’d, as the third member of the Kia cee’d family, joins the popular cee’d five-door and recently launched wagon models to make Kia an especially strong challenger for C-segment sales in Europe.
We wanted to make pro_cee’d as ‘sporty’ as a cee’d could possibly be, while still remaining a member of our cee’d family,” explains Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Kia Motors Europe. “We are proud that the appearance of the pro_cee’d production car remains so close to the concept we showed at the Paris Motor Show last year.
“The three-door Kia pro_cee’d is such a comprehensive re-working of the cee’d design theme that only the bonnet and the front wing panels are carried over from the five-door model. All other exterior panels are new and exclusive to this car.”
Production of the pro_cee’d model range is scheduled to begin in November with first customer sales during the early months of 2008.
