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Kia unveils K4 sedan concept in China

Among the dozens of foreign automakers eager to showcase their wares to the Chinese market, Kia arrived at the Beijing Motor Show with the new K4. Though technically categorized as a "concept," the K4 previews a sedan which Kia intends to launch in China later this year.
The K4 is a midsize sedan measuring 186 inches long and riding on a 106-inch wheelbase that makes it bigger than the Forte (sold in the Far East as the K3) and just a few inches shorter than the Optima (aka K5). The form is draped in familiar Kia-style bodywork, with a high trunk and low nose to give it a wedge shape and a familiar if somewhat new take on the headlights and grille seen on other new models from the Korean automaker.
Power comes from a 1.6-liter turbo four (smaller than the engines available in the Optima/K5) mated to a seven-speed DCT. Kia has also fitted the K4 concept with push-button ignition, UVO infotainment system, rear-view camera, six airbags and stability management. In short, everything you'd expect from the latest product of a global automaker.

A verified hit, Kia Soul EV will come to new markets

Today at the Chicago Auto Show, Kia introduced a new off-road Trailster plug-in concept, but the real-world news was all about how the Soul EV will be traveling to places it hasn't gone before. When Kia introduced the Soul EV in Chicago last year, it said that the car would some day be available in five states: California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Today, company executives said the car will be coming to more markets – they just declined to mention where, exactly. The Soul EV is currently sold in just 17 dealerships in California, Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning at Kia Motors America, told AutoblogGreen. "For the next stage, we were originally planning on hitting the east coast, but we are changing that around a little bit. You'll see more availability," he said. Hedrick said that the change was prompted by the simple fact that the Soul is attracting new customers. "We went back to the factory and told them it's doing very well and it's now expanded beyond an EV, it's something bigger," he said. "It's helping us get a dialogue with completely new, different customer that we normally wouldn't see in a Kia store. So we would like the opportunity to take it further." We asked if customer interest in the compliance car caught the company off guard. Hedrick said that wasn't quite the right way to look at the history of the Soul EV. "When we looked at it originally, we were trying to go beyond the compliance part," he said. "We understood, of course, that we had to do it, but we wanted to showcase something that was really strong for us, which is the Soul, and we thought it would help build out the Soul family and bring more people to see us and that's exactly what's happening. It was a little more than compliance but I think we were kind of shocked how well it was received. It's been a huge hit." "Huge" in this case means bigger than Kia's original production capacity estimates, he said, without getting into specifics. It was "significantly more than what we originally planned for," he said. The Soul EV is built in Korea and the car is sold there, the US and will be coming to Europe as well. "I don't think they're in a position to ramp up quickly," Hedrick said, "They're in the process of ramping up more and we'll have an announcement, we hope, by New York, about where we're going to go to." The New York Auto Show media days start April 1, 2015.

Kia Forte5 hotted-up hatch could be coming back to U.S. market

CarBuzz discovered an executive order Kia submitted to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that appears to leave a placeholder for a new Forte5. The previous Forte5 — the hatchback version of the Forte sedan — was sold in the U.S. until last year. The tailgated version didn't make the jump to the new-generation Forte sedan that went on sale in the latter part of 2018. The question is whether the lodged paperwork means we can expect a new Forte5 to come our way, or if Kia's U.S. arm is merely preparing for the possibility. Kia's CARB filing lists four 2020 model-year Forte trims: A Forte sedan without smart cruise control (SCC) that can be had with Kia's seven-speed dual-clutch transmission or a six-speed manual; a Forte sedan with SCC that comes with the DCT; a Forte5 with the DCT; and a Forte5 with the DCT and SCC. All four cars get a 1.6-liter four-cylinder. The only such engine Kia has is a turborcharged GDI unit with 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, currently found in the Soul GT. The only engine available in the Forte sedan at the moment is a naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 147 hp and 132 lb-ft, with a CVT manipulating gear ratios. In an interview with Motor Trend at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show where the latest Forte sedan was launched, the Forte's product manager said, "We're not done with Forte. ... We have more exciting products that are coming that I can't speak of." We know there's a production version of the Forte GT on the way with the 1.6-liter, so that takes care of two of the listed vehicles. At the time of the interview, MT wondered if the Kia exec was alluding to "a return of the Forte5 hatchback," something cribbed off the gorgeous Proceed concept shown at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. If we were to peer perhaps too closely at the tea leaves, in January of this year Kia launched the new Forte5 hatchback at the Montreal Auto Show (pictured). An exec with Kia Canada said that country is "the first in North America to get up close to a brand-new vehicle." Perhaps we'll be the second. That car in Canada comes with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in base trim, and will offer the 1.6-liter as part of a "GT performance upgrade." We know the Forte GT sedan will come with nicer and sportier bits like LED headlights and 18-inch wheels on Michelin Super Sport tires. If there is a hotted-up Forte5 hatch on the way, we should know before too long.