Overview

Overview

Opirus is the new pinnacle of the Kia range. It represents a significant new move for Kia Motors as the company introduces a top-of-the-range passenger car onto the international market for the very first time. Opirus will head the Korean brand´s renewed challenge to penetrate new markets around the globe.

In Europe, Opirus provides a major step for Kia into sectors of the market previously unexplored by the brand. Opirus will move the brand´s image further away from its outdated perception as merely a maker of inexpensive, high volume, family cars. Never before has a Korean car offered customers such a comprehensive range of sophisticated safety and driving technologies. Neve7r before has a Kia product set out to create such an imposing presence on the roads of Europe.

Distinctively styled in-house in Korea, but with numerous European design cues in mind, Kia adopted a refined ´Neo-Classical´ theme for the creation of its new flagship model. Elegant lines, with well-balanced proportions give the five-metre, five-seater sedan timeless exterior styling to envelope and protect the luxurious comfort and innovative technologies within.

Opirus features ABS (anti-lock brakes), BAS (emergency brake assist), EBD (electronic brake force distribution), TCS (traction control system), ESP (electronic stability program) and ECS (electronically controlled suspension) - all as standard equipment.

Combining great comfort with a full range of sophisticated cutting-edge technologies, Opirus is designed to be a pleasure to drive, and to be driven in. The breadth and quality of Opirus´ comfort, convenience and technology features reflect Kia´s ambition for its new model to become a top-of-the-range competitor to Europe´s established premium brands. Opirus demonstrates that Kia´s reputation for providing a great deal of car at a real value price, is not restricted to its higher volume family models.

Designed to replace Kia´s flagship model in the Korean domestic market, the Enterprise luxury sedan, the Opirus was always intended to be the vehicle to power Kia Motors into the premium sector of many international markets for the first time.

Developed over 22 months at a cost US$167 million ( €143 million ), the Opirus is a breakaway model for Kia in terms of its styling and its positioning. It is also the first premium end vehicle that Kia has developed on a shared platform with sister company Hyundai Motors.

"The Opirus is a perfect example of the synergies that have been achieved through the takeover of Kia Motors by the Hyundai Automotive Group and also a clear indication of the differences between the two companies," comments Kia Motors´ Chief Operating Officer Yong-Hwan Kim. "Opirus is built on the same platform as Hyundai´s Equus (Centennial) premium sedan, enabling us to reduce development costs dramatically. Indeed, some 18% of the total development cost went in R&D investment and a further 41% in the development of production technologies. Opirus is also one of the most distinctively styled vehicles, both inside and out, that Kia has ever produced."

The development of the Opirus rounds out Kia´s international range with a highly competitive luxury sedan that combines safety and performance with exceptional comfort.

Taking Kia another step further away from its obsolete perception as a maker of small, cheap cars, the Opirus is positioned to compete between the middle-high and near luxury segments. The car will be aiming to attract new customers to the brand by providing a level of sophistication and a range of features more usually found at the higher end of the European market - at a highly competitive price.

The target buyers for the Opirus are professionals in their mid forties to late fifties for whom appearance and image are important but who are also sensitive to value. The Opirus would therefore appeal, for example, to established businesspeople who are just starting their own enterprise or making a major career change. It is also a compelling buy for executive fleet managers and younger professionals eager to purchase their first luxury car but not yet in a financial position to consider the more traditional luxury brands.

The Opirus will be built at Kia´s Hwasung plant and initial production is expected to be 35,000 units per year rising to 60,000 units from 2004.

Editors Notes

1. Kia has been providing luxury sedans in Korea since the introduction of the Potentia in 1992. Five years later, the Enterprise was introduced to take over the flagship role and has since sold 22,235 units. The Potentia was discontinued in 2001 after accumulating sales of 99,126 units.

2. The Opirus name is derived from the Biblical city of Ophir, the city immortalised in the first verse of John Masefield´s poem "Cargoes;"

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.

Ophir was a trading centre renowned throughout the ancient world as a source of high-end items such as fine gold, sandalwood and exotic animals. The Opirus name therefore carries connotations of style and luxury with classical overtones.

3. A single, comprehensively equipped version of the Opirus will be marketed in Europe.
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Ophir was a trading centre renowned throughout the ancient world as a source of high-end items such as fine gold, sandalwood and exotic animals. The Opirus name therefore carries connotations of style and luxury with classical overtones.

3. A single, comprehensively equipped version of the Opirus will be marketed in Europe.
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About Kia Motors Europe
Kia Motors Europe is the European sales, marketing, and service arm of Kia Motors Corp. With its headquarters in Eschborn, Germany, it covers 23 markets in Europe. The European sales target is 300,000 units by 2005, thanks to new European products and diesel engines.

About Kia Motors Corporation
Founded in 1944, Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.co.kr) is Korea´s oldest manufacturer of automobiles. A part of the Hyundai Automobile Group, the company currently sells more than one million vehicles per year worldwide and exports around 600,000 vehicles per year through a network of distributors that covers 175 countries. Kia Motors is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and the international sponsor of the Davis Cup for the Euro/Africa Zone.

Press Contact:

Kia Motors Europe
Henri-Pierre Galletti, Head of Communications
Mergenthaler Allee 77, D - 65760 Eschborn, Germany
Tel.: +49 (6196) 509 3710 Fax.: +49 (6196) 509 3720
E-mail: hpgalletti@kia-europe.de