Kia cee'd production set to pass 100,000 units landmark

• 100,000th Kia cee’d to be manufactured on 3 October 2007
• Zilina plant to build four different Kia models from next month

Kia Motors always claimed that its first-ever assembly facility in Europe — the €1 billion operation at Zilina in Slovakia — would establish new benchmarks for vehicle quality and productivity, aiming to manufacture 100 cars per employee per year when fully operational and becoming the most productive car plant in Europe.

Next Wednesday, that productivity promise will be further endorsed when the 100,000th Kia cee’d, destined for a customer in Denmark, drives off the assembly line and sets another landmark in the developing history of Kia in Europe.

“This is a truly significant day for Kia,” enthused Mr In-Kyu Bae, President and CEO Kia Motors Slovakia (KMS). “The build quality and the productivity levels achieved by our Zilina operations are remarkable. These two factors, plus the style, design, quality and durability of the Kia cee’d cars manufactured in Slovakia, have enabled us to offer the unique Kia 7-Year Warranty on cee’d and to trigger a growing surge in Kia sales across Europe.

Mr Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe, added “Since its launch in Europe in December 2006, more than 80,000 cee’d five-door models have been delivered, and this model, with its 5-Star EuroNCAP safety rating, has played a key role in winning over thousands of new customers to the Kia brand.”

With a highly-trained staff of 2,400 working two shifts, Zilina is already building three Kia models — cee’d five-door hatchback, cee’d Sporty Wagon and Sportage SUV — and will begin production of a fourth model, the Kia pro_cee’d three-door during October.

- 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 Frankfurt, 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 13 manufacturing and assembly operations in nine countries produce more than 1.3 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 165 countries. Kia today has 33,000 employees and annual revenues of US$19 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 boosted its football links this year with three new sponsorships of major teams that will see the Kia logo appearing in the UEFA Champions League — FC Girondins de Bordeaux, FC Brussels and Atletico de Madrid.

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 Panu Vainamo
Tel 0049 69 850 928 352
E-mail pvainamo@kia-europe.com

Kia Motors Europe GmbH
Theodor-Heuss-Allee 11
60486 Frankfurt, Germany
Tel 0049 69 850 928 352
Fax 0049 69 850 928 399