Marketing

Maximising customer choice with a third cee’d model

Two core themes behind the introduction of the Kia cee’d five-door hatchback and Sporty Wagon are continued and further developed with the launch of the Kia pro_cee’d – maximum customer choice and product sensuality.

“The introduction of the three-door model is in itself a major boost to maximising Kia customer choice,” explains Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. “pro_cee’d is expected to appeal to consumers who would not consider buying a five-door hatchback, and until the availability of this new model would never have entertained the idea of buying a Kia.

“With pro_cee’d we are anticipating Germany, Spain and the UK to generate the highest demand, closely followed by Italy and France. In terms of model mix, the 1.6-litre versions (gasoline and diesel) are expected to be the biggest sellers (about one third), but demand for the 2-litre models and for the 17-inch wheel and stiffer suspension option is predicted to rise to around 20%,” observes Lievens.

Buyers of the new pro_cee’d will be offered the full range of features available on other cee’d family members. Choices include: five engines, three trim/equipment levels, four interior concepts, four interior centre-stack styles, seven different trim fabrics and 12 exterior colours. pro_cee’d will be made in both left- and right-hand drive, so Kia can respond to individual customer’s personal tastes across the whole of Europe and build vehicles to meet their specific requirements.

Targeting the latest cee’d model at a specific group of consumers, Kia’s design teams have created the pro_cee’d to ‘satisfy all senses’. Adapting the cee’d core theme of sensuality, the designers were determined that pro_cee’d will be especially attractive to see, nice to touch and even greater fun to drive.

High-performance entertainment

Ensuring that pro-cee’d will be great fun to ride in, as well as to drive, as standard, all three-door models (LX, EX and TX) come with a purpose-built RDS radio/single CD player, with MP3 compatibility, and four audio speakers, plus audio controls on the steering wheel.

Both the EX and TX models will have USB and AUX iPod®* connections in the centre console, so pro_cee’d owners can play their favourite music through the car’s speakers.

Revolutionary Kia 7-Year Warranty

In Europe, the new Kia pro_cee’d will come with the same extended warranty package as the five-door hatchback and the Sporty Wagon of cee’d models. In fact, every Kia in the cee’d family marketed by Kia Motors Europe will benefit from a 7-year/150,000 kilometre new car warranty. The ‘best’ new vehicle warranty ever offered in Europe, the Kia warranty will be free and transferable to subsequent owners.

Thanks to the high quality of vehicles coming from Kia’s brand-new facility in Slovakia, Kia is demonstrating its commitment to maximum customer satisfaction and lowered costs of vehicle ownership, by offering this revolutionary warranty. Kia views this warranty as an important long-term customer relations measure.

Three models boost Kia sales in Europe

“When we launched the Kia cee’d hatchback we knew it was going to be Kia’s best-ever challenger for C-segment honours in the European marketplace,” asserts Jean-Charles Lievens. “After the first press drives in late 2006, media reaction was overwhelmingly positive and even before the cee’d five-door hatchback went on sale in January 2007, we had more than 17,000 pre-orders for our new model.”

Since that first launch of cee’d, five-door orders have passed the 70,000 mark and pre-orders for the new Sporty Wagon model (on sale from September in most countries) are very strong, approaching 10,000 units.

“I think the cee’d really is a great car – a Kia that looks better, feels better and drives better than ever before,” continues Lievens. “More and more consumers, once they have seen it, touched it, sampled its performance and learned about its 7-year warranty, are convinced that a decision to buy a Kia cee’d car is indeed the right choice.

“Now we have the three-door pro_cee’d which is an even more rewarding drive and expands the appeal of the Kia brand into a whole new area of the C-segment market. This is a sensationally good looking car and one which will get both the press and public taking notice – proving once again that we have ‘The Power to Surprise™,” concluded Jean-Charles Lievens.

Kia pro_cee’d – 19-model line up for European Market*

Diesel

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Gasoline

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* The Kia factory in Zilina, Slovakia is manufacturing a total of 19 pro-cee’d derivatives, but the model line-up may vary country-to-country, depending on local market requirements. Please check the final pro-cee’d line-up in your country with your local Kia PR.