NEW KIA PICANTO OFF TO A ´SPICY´ START

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

Even before Kia´s all-new small car, the Picanto has arrived at European dealer´s showrooms, it is shaping up to be a very attractive ´spicy dish´ for customers. One month before the first customer deliveries (end of April), Kia Motors Europe is forecasting that Picanto orders will reach or exceed 20,000 units, putting the new model firmly on course to achieve its target of 43,000 sales in Europe during 2004 and 80,000 units annually.

Kia´s new entry-level small car was styled and engineered with European tastes and customer needs in mind. The five-door hatchback is a great example of packaging design, with ´best-in-class´ interior dimensions and comfortable accommodation for four large adults or a family of five.

"Picanto is Kia´s first A-segment model and we were confident that it would attract the attention of a whole new generation of customers to our brand," comments Jean-Charles Lievens, Vice President Kia Motors Europe. "The car´s cheeky face and zest-for-life character, plus immense practicality, give it tremendous appeal. Our dealer showrooms are going to be very busy."

The Kia Picanto will be available with a choice of 1-litre or 1.1-litre gasoline engines, LX or EX equipment levels, four or five seats and manual or automatic transmission. Picanto will deliver world-leading CO2 emission figures, with the 1-litre LX model recording an ultra-low 118 g/km.

Very competitive financing solutions, including a range of special introductory purchase and lease packages, will add to the new car´s allure and put many European customers behind the wheel of a Picanto.

Kia is currently Europe´s fastest-growing automotive brand. Sales in Europe rose by 41% to 127,000 during 2003 and have gone up another 29.2% so far this year (end of February).
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Editors´ Notes:

About 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 18 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