Major boost for Kia football sponsorships in Europe

• Kia France to support Bordeaux drive for top honours
• Kia Belgium to back FC Brussels and the Belgian national squad
• Kia Spain continues sponsorship of Atletico de Madrid

Kia Motors Europe Headquarters, Eschborn, Germany - 9 August 2006

Kia has boosted its sporting links to football with confirmation of three new sponsorships that will see the Kia logo appearing in the UEFA Champions League and will raise the brand´s profile in France and Belgium.

Kia France has signed a sponsorship agreement with FC Girondins de Bordeaux, the team that finished runner-up in France´s League 1 last season and will contest the Champions League in 2006-2007. More than 125 years old, the team has a glorious history with famous players such as Christophe Dugarry, Bixente Lizarazu and Zinedine Zidane sporting its colours in the past. It attracts more than 500,000 spectators each season to its home games and will carry the Kia logo proudly on its shirts. Coached by Brazilian Gomes Ricardo and with new signing Johan Micoud, Bordeaux is aiming to end Lyon´s five-year domination of top-class French football.

Kia Motors Belgium has signed deals to support both a young ´rising star´ team (FC Brussels) and the national soccer squad, nicknamed Les Diables Rouge (The Red Devils). For the next three years, Kia will be a main sponsor of the FC Brussels team that was established in June 2003 in the second division and has already climbed to 10th position in division one. Its 20,000-seater ´Edmond Machtens´ stadium regularly attracts capacity crowds and this new, emerging team is now a fine ´ambassador´ for the Belgian capital.

Kia´s backing for the Belgian national team is a two-year deal with extension options. Under new coach Rene Vanderyecken, a core of new, young and ambitious players are determined to regain the country´s former reputation as a tough challenger in international football.

"Kia´s new football sponsorships will significantly raise the profile of our brand across Europe at an important time. We are continuing to renew our product line-up and to expand our dealership network in preparation to becoming a European manufacturer when our first factory in Slovakia comes on stream in December," commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe.

As well as supporting major football teams through national sponsorships, including Kia Spain´s support for Atletico de Madrid, Kia has boosted its brand profile through working with well-known Korean soccer players in major European leagues as brand ambassadors. The list of Korean soccer stars now playing in Europe includes: Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United, UK), Lee Young-Pyo (Tottenham Hotspur, UK), Seol Ki-Hyun (Reading FC, UK) and Cha Doo-Ri (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany). Kia Motors Corporation is the official automotive partner to soccer World Cup organisers FIFA for the 2007-2014 period.

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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 29 markets in Europe.

About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com) 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 12 manufacturing and assembly operations in seven countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 160 countries. Kia today has 32,500 employees and annual revenues of US$16 billion.

Kia is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. From 2007 to 2014, Kia will be an official automotive partner of FIFA - governing body of soccer´s FIFA World 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

Mr Jean-Charles Lievens
Tel 0049 6196 5092 102

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