HIGH QUALITY AND VEHICLE DESIGN WIN AWARDS FOR KIA

• Products and Services win 16 awards in 20 countries this year
• Kia rated ´one of the world´s most rapidly improving brands´

Kia Motors Europe Headquarters, Eschborn, Germany - 16 December 2005

This month´s victory by the Kia Rio in the ´Autobest 2006´ awards, is just one of many award tri-umphs achieved by Kia Motors during 2005. Kia products and services have won 16 major awards in 20 countries around the world this year.

These awards highlight that Kia now markets class-leading vehicles - Picanto ´most economical car´, Cerato (Spectra in USA) ´39% improved quality - beating Honda and Toyota rivals, the Sportage ´best compact SUV´, Carnival ´best family car´ and Sorento ´best off-roader below €30,000´. And that Kia is both ´one of the world´s most rapidly improving brands´ (JD Power & Associates), as well as the manufacturer of products which ´delight´ their users and owners.

"The host of awards which Kia has won this year endorses the effectiveness of the many measures taken by the Kia Motors Corporation in recent years to produce vehicles which attract new customers, delight new buyers and impress owners with their quality, durability and reliability over the long-term. In addition to impressing the award presenters, we have been welcoming more and more new
consumers into our dealer showrooms as they switch to the Kia brand," commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe.

KIA AWARDS 2005

Date Award Presenter

1 10 January Most Delightful Vehicle Strategic Vision (USA)
The Kia Amanti (Opirus in Europe) won this award in the mid-size category in the USA after a survey of 75,000 new car owners discovered that owners were not just ´completely satisfied´ and the product was better than ´excellent´ - the Kia ´delighted´ its users and created an emotional bond.

2 22 February Best Marketing Award Automotive Management (UK)
Presented for the ground-breaking animated TV advertising campaign for the Kia Picanto in the UK. The ´Think about it´ theme enabled Kia to talk to its target audience in a highly entertaining and thoroughly memorable manner.

3 21 March Five-Star Rating for Carnival NHTSA (USA)
The new Kia Carnival MPV (Sedona in some markets) earned the highest possible rating - 5-Stars - for all seating positions in the latest frontal and side impact tests carried out by the USA´s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

4 18 April Sorento tops JD Power Survey What Car? Magazine (UK)
Making its first appearance in this annual UK survey by the influential JD Power & Associates, the Kia Sorento scored a clear class victory with a triple achievement - best 4x4, only 4x4 with a ´5-Star´ rating and 7th overall in a field of 124 competitors, after scoring a Customer Satisfaction Index rating of 84% to beat many established 4x4 stars.

5 4 May Consumer Durables 2004 SAN Accent (Netherlands)
A famous annual event in the world of advertising, the ´SAN Accent´ awards are presented in 10 categories. In the ´consumer durables´ section, Kia won an ward for its innovative ´Lekker Fel´ (Very Fierce) campaign of TV commercials, billboards and press advertising for the Picanto.

6 19 May Improved Quality Ranking JD Power & Associates (USA)
The 2005 Initial Quality Study (IQS) of vehicles during the first three months of ownership, con-firmed that Kia is one of the world´s most rapidly improving auto brands. The C-Segment Spectra (Cerato in Europe) improved its quality by 39% (and cut faults to just one-per-car) to claim runner-up-in-class beating the bench-mark Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, and finshing second only to Prius.

7 26 May Top-10 Cars for Graduates Edmunds.com (USA)
The new Kia Sportage was praised by Editor in Chief, Karl Brauer, as being "a stellar little car-based SUV offering everything people love about other small SUVs for a couple of grand less - youthful yet sophisticated and allowing grads to make a smooth transition from college life to the ´real´ world."

8 27 May Best Car Motor Presse Bohemia (Czech Republic)
The publishers of the prestigious Auto Motor and Sport magazine invited Czech readers to vote for their favourite vehicles in several different classes and prices ranges. The Kia Sorento was a clear winner as ´Best Off-road´ car priced below €30,000.

9 10 June Best 12 Cars Nepszabadsag (Hungary)
A three-way annual award presented by the car magazine, Auto2, the local Info Radio and the daily newspaper Nepszabadsag, the ´Best 12 Cars´ is a selection of the top dozen models tested during the previous 12 months. This year the Kia Picanto was included in the award winners.

10 20 July Most Economical Car ADAC (Germany)
A regular survey of motoring costs by the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club revealed the Kia Picanto to be the most economical four-seater in the A-segment. Total ownership costs calculated over a four-year period, covering 15,000 kilometers each year, came to €4,537 or just 03.2 cents per kilometer.

11 23 September APEAL Study JD Power & Associates (USA)
New vehicle owners in the USA awarded the Kia Amanti (Opirus in Europe) and Kia Sportage the highest scores in their class in the 2005 survey of Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL). This study measures new-vehicle buyers´ delight with their car´s design, con-tent, layout and performance.

12 12 October Total Value Index Strategic Vision (USA)
A survey of drivers who had owned their new car for at least 90 days announced that the Kia Amanti (Opirus in Europe) earned top honours in the large car category of the 2005 Total Value Index from the highly regarded San Diego-based research company, Strategic Vision.

13 8 November Best in Class (Sportage) Northwest APA (USA)
The Kia Sportage was named ´Best in Class Compact SUV´ (under $25,000) at the annual Nor-thwest Automotive Press Association´s Mudfest competition in Portland, Oregon. A panel of 25 automotive journalists tested vehciles both on-road and off-road and assessed their packaging, versatility and value for money.

14 16 November Fastest Growing Brand Autocar Magazine (Greece)
The well established motoring publication, Autocar, recognised Kia´s increasingly dynamic presence in the Greek market by presenting the company with the 2005 Fastest Growing Auto-motive Comany award. Kia beat all other brands by recording a 73% sales growth compared with sales in 2004.

15 23 November Motor de Ouro Revista Eles & Elas (Portugal)
The Kia Carnival was voted ´Best Family Car´ and presented with a ´Gold Motor´ award by the country´s leading ´high-society´ publication. The Kia was praised for its ´space, versatility, equipment, powerful engine, family-oriented comfort and safety´ - beating the Nissan Pathfinder and Citroen C6 into runner-up places.

16 15 December Best Car Autobest 2006
The new Kia Rio was selected by the Autobest jury of motoring writers from 12 Eastern Europe-an countries as ´the new car best suited to the needs of most people in the emerging markets of their region´. The Rio scored more than 700 points to beat both the Clio and Focus by a comfor-table margin to claim the crown.

- Ends -

Editors Notes

Kia Motors Europe
Kia Motors Europe is the European sales, marketing, and service arm of Kia Motors Corporation. With its headquarters in Eschborn, Germany, it covers 28 markets in Europe. The European sales target is 300,000 units per year by 2005, thanks to new products and new diesel engines.

About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com) - one of the fastest growing automakers in the world - was founded in 1944 and is Korea´s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world´s premier automotive brands.

Kia´s 16 manufacturing and assembly operations in 12 countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 155 countries. Kia today has 32,000 employees and annual revenues of US$14 billion.

Kia is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. Kia Motors Corporation´s brand slogan - ´The Power to Surprise´ - represents the company´s global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.

Press Contact

Dr. Iris von Kirschbaum
Tel 0049 6196 5092 132 Email i.kirschbaum@kia-europe.com

Kia Motors Europe GmbH
Hauptstrasse 185, 65760 Eschborn, Germany.
Tel 0049 6196 5092 132 / Fax 0049 6196 5092 100