KIA REVEALS NEW K2500 LIGHT TRUCK

• New levels of style, performance and convenience for K-Series
• Choice of three cabin layouts, with three or six seats
• Dependable 94 bhp, 2.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine
• Introduces ´driver-oriented´ fatigue-free working environment

Kia Motors Europe Headquarters, Eschborn, Germany - 22 July 2004

Kia Motors has released the first official photographs and technical details of the latest version of the corporation´s hugely popular K-Series light trucks - the K2500 TCi. The present K-Series is the world´s best-selling cab-over light truck range.

Kia´s new K-Series truck, which will go on sale from October 2004 in Europe, offers customers even more generous dimensions and more attractive styling than before. The new K-Series is destined to provide tough competition for its closest rivals, the Toyota Dyna and Nissan Cabstar. The new Kia is 430 mm longer, 45 mm wider and has a 70 mm longer wheelbase than the Dyna, and can carry a 1,300 kg payload.

In Europe, the new K-Series offers customers a choice of three cabin layouts: Standard, King and Double cab, with three or six seats. It also features a turbocharged, intercooled 2.5-litre, 94 bhp 4D56 TCi diesel engine. This engine is tuned to deliver 220 Nm of torque at just 2,000 rpm, and to offer an ideal balance of performance and fuel economy for each market´s needs and characteristics. Standard transmission is a five-speed manual gearbox.

"Building on the overwhelming success of its predecessors, Kia´s new K-Series will transform standards in this segment by establishing new levels of style, performance, convenience and dependability," commented Kia´s Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO. "We understand that even in a commercial vehicle, the environment should be pleasant for driving and working. We have developed ´the´ driver-oriented cab, with better ergonomics and many new convenience features. We have taken the fatigue out of long-haul and replaced it with surprising comfort and refinement."

Kia plans to sell more than 39,000 examples of the new K-Series range in export markets by late 2005.

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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 19 markets in Europe. The European sales target is 300,000 units per year by 2005, thanks to new European products and new diesel engines.

About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com), which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2004, is among the world´s fastest growing automobile companies. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to be a ´Top 5´ global automaker by 2010. Kia´s 15 manufacturing and assembly operations in 12 countries make more than one million vehicles each year. These vehicles are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 190 countries.
Founded in 1944, Kia Motors Corporation is Korea´s oldest manufacturer of automobiles. Kia today has 30,000 employees and annual revenues of US$ 12 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and the international sponsor of the Davis Cup.

Press Contact:

Kia Motors Europe GmbH
Henri-Pierre Galletti
Head of Communications
Hauptstrasse 185, 65760 Eschborn, Germany
Tel.: +49 (6196) 509 2132 / Fax.: +49 (6196) 509 2100
E-mail: hpgalletti@kia-europe.com

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