Kia to supply Slovakian Police patrol car fleet till 2010

• Up to 4,000 Kia vehicles could be supplied over next three years

Kia Motors has been appointed an ‘Official Supplier’ to the Slovakian Ministry of the Interior and awarded a contract to supply locally-manufactured Kia vehicles to the country’s police forces until 2010.

The first batch of 43 cee’d police patrol cars were handed-over recently and a further 350 cee’d cars are scheduled for delivery by year-end. Over the next three years, up to 4,000 Kia vehicles could be ordered as part of the Interior Ministry’s re-equipment programme.

At the hands of policemen operating different shifts, each cee’d patrol car will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will be expected to cover up to 200km per day in the course of regular police duties.

“This significant fleet order from the Slovakia Republic is an endorsement of the design, quality and durability of the Kia cee’d,” commented Mr Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. “Since its launch in Europe in December 2006, more than 80,000 cee’d five-door models have been delivered, and the car has played a key role in winning over new C-segment customers to the Kia brand.”

The Slovakia Police patrol cars will be manufactured at Kia’s first-ever plant in Europe – the €1 billion operation at Zilina established by Kia in north eastern Slovakia over the last three years. 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 the pro_cee’d three-door later this year, living up to its promise of becoming the most productive car manufacturing plant in Europe.

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 Email pvainamo@kia-europe.com

Kia Motors Europe GmbH
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