Kia has once again succeeded at the prestigious Red Dot Awards, taking home three design awards. Following the launch of the third‑generation Kia Ceed, now sold across Europe, each of the three body styles in the Ceed model range received a Red Dot Award for design. This triple victory in the world‑renowned design competition marks the second consecutive year that Kia has achieved a Red Dot hat‑trick, following a similar success in 2018. Earlier in 2019, Kia also received three iF Design Awards.
This achievement further underlines the Korean manufacturer’s reputation for outstanding design, shaped for more than a decade by Peter Schreyer, President of Design and Chief Design Officer of Kia Motors. Kia won its first Red Dot Award in 2009 for the Kia Soul. Since then, the brand has collected a total of 24 Red Dot Awards for vehicle design.
Design Hat‑Trick for the New Kia Ceed Range
The latest trophies were awarded to all three new variants of the Ceed: the five‑door Ceed hatchback and Ceed Sportswagon, launched in mid‑2018, and the new five‑door ProCeed shooting brake, which went on sale in Europe at the beginning of 2019.
Although the third generation of the Kia Ceed introduced a change in the spelling of its name (formerly Kia cee’d), its meaning remains the same. Like the original 2007 model, the new Ceed is a compact car for the “Community of Europe, with European Design.” As a true European, the new model range was designed at Kia’s European Design Center in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under the leadership of Peter Schreyer and Gregory Guillaume, Head of European Design. Engineering and development work took place at Kia’s R&D Center in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and all three body styles are manufactured in Slovakia.
The design of the new Ceed family is characterized by clean, straight lines, inspired by the sporty fastback sedan Kia Stinger, which itself won a Red Dot Award in 2018. The five‑door Ceed hatchback is wider and lower than its predecessor, with the cabin positioned further rearward, giving the vehicle a sportier stance and profile. From the side, the rear pillar creates an elegant crescent‑shaped upper window line.
The Ceed Sportswagon brings unprecedented spaciousness to the compact segment. The third‑generation model is longer and offers owners a larger luggage compartment (625 liters) than most of its competitors—and even more than some vehicles in higher classes. Thanks to its intelligent proportions and dynamic new design, the Ceed Sportswagon is sportier than all its predecessors.
The ProCeed introduces an entirely new design for the Kia brand and is the first compact shooting brake from a traditional automotive manufacturer. It combines striking elegance with the spaciousness and versatility of a GT‑class tourer, and stands apart from its siblings thanks to its unique stance and proportions. With a height of 1,422 mm, it is the lowest vehicle in the family‑car segment. The defining feature of its profile is the dynamic roofline, which ends in a sharply sloping rear window. This distinctive design is especially eye‑catching from the rear, where an illuminated line connecting the LED taillights gives the ProCeed a unique lighting signature.
Both ProCeed and Ceed are available as high‑performance GT models, powered by a 1.6‑liter turbocharged gasoline direct‑injection (T‑GDi) engine producing 150 kW (204 hp). The Ceed family offers a total of six low‑emission gasoline and diesel engines, all of which comply with the Euro 6d‑TEMP emissions standard. Among the wide range of advanced technologies available are an optional Lane Following Assist system with Level 2 autonomous driving capability and a heated windshield.
Red Dot Awards: Over 5,500 Products from 55 Countries Entered
The Red Dot Award, first presented in 1955 by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, has become one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions. The judging panel consists of 40 independent design experts, professors, and journalists from around the globe.
Red Dot Awards are presented in three categories—Product Design, Communication Design, and Design Concept—and are judged on criteria such as innovation, formal quality, functionality, and ecological compatibility. In 2019, more than 5,500 products from 55 countries were entered into the competition.
The official Red Dot Award ceremony will take place on July 8, 2019, in Essen, Germany, at the Aalto‑Musiktheater opera house, designed by Alvar Aalto.
