2014 Kia Forte Koup Ex on 2040-cars

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Kia using quality and technology to increase sales and brand prestige

Kia is a long way from hawking the anonymous lozenge known as the Sephia on our shores. That was only 1994, though, and in less than 20 years the company has gone from judging its aspirations against Japanese budget competition to walking auto show floors checking out the German standard-bearers for tips on how to increase sales and brand prestige. In an interview with Automotive News, Kia executives laid out their plan for carving out a Volkswagen-like niche for the company whereby they could be viewed as the premium pick in a volume segment. Concepts like the Kia Cub, above, would seem to point in this direction.
Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality.
Kia's prime directive is "an unrelenting focus on quality." The Japanese brands earned a reputation for bulletproof reliability, and Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality - neither in-house nor for its suppliers, a trade-off we've seen go wrong before. It has a Pilot Center that studies each new model for potential production problems before being given the approval for manufacture, and it isn't until the quality control department gives the okay that manufacture can begin.

Hyundai and Kia introduce new predictive transmission tech

Hyundai and Kia have announced that the two have developed a new transmission control system that optimizes shift logic to both improve efficiency and reduce "gear hunting." The system utilizes real-time traffic data, built-in 3D navigation and the same sensors that feed the cars' advanced safety and driver assist tech to proactively choose the right gear — even neutral in some cases — to reduce both fuel consumption and wear-and-tear. The Korean sister brands call it the "Information Communication Technology Connected Shift System," or "ICT" for short, and Hyundai says it delivers not just improved frugality, but a better all-around driving experience. ICT programming allows the transmission control unit to collect and interpret traffic, camera, sensor, navigation route, elevation and topographical data.  "Using all of these inputs, the TCU predicts the optimal shift scenario for real-time driving situations through an artificial intelligence algorithm and shifts the gears accordingly," the announcement said. "For example, when a relatively long slow down is expected and radar detects no speed irregularities with the car ahead, the transmission clutch temporarily switches to neutral mode to improve fuel efficiency." While this sounds like a primarily green play, there are quality-of-life improvements too. For example, ICT can also optimize gear selection and shift points for safer highway merges, effectively implementing the equivalent of a "Sport Mode" driving profile when a little extra punch is called for.  Hyundai says the resulting decrease in shifts was significant; in some test scenarios, such as roads with lots of curves, the number of shifts executed by the transmission was reduced by almost half. As an added bonus, these vehicles also utilized their brakes less often (11%), which would reduce wear (and accompanying maintenance costs) over time.  ICT is somewhat future-proof, too, as it was developed to incorporate vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) data should such networks improve down the line.  The announcement did not say when the new tech would reach customers, committing only to introducing the technology "on future vehicles." If we're betting, the smart money says it will probably on a new Genesis model and trickle down from there. Related Video:

Kia Soul EV starts production in Korea

As sister company Hyundai delivers its first Tucson fuel cell vehicles in California, Kia has kicked off volume production of the Soul EV in Korea. We've driven the prototype and are excited about the arrival of this electric vehicle. Kia is already calling the production start a landmark event, but let's remember that other automakers have been building production EVs for years now. The EVs won't be exported outside of Korea until later in 2014, but the automaker is hoping to make 5,000 a year at its Gwangju facility. The first batch is headed to "select European countries" with more coming to Europe at a later date. The vehicle might be coming to the US in the third quarter. The Soul EV is Kia's second production EV, following the Ray EV. Kia only made 2,500 of them for governmental agency use in Korea. We've got a little video on the Soul EV here. As a reminder, the Soul has a 27-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery which is good for a now-official range (on the European test cycle) of 212 kilometers. That's 132 miles, but expect a good chunk to get knocked off when it gets rated on the US text cycle. For example, the Nissan Leaf is rated at 199 kilometers (123 miles) in Europe but only 84 miles from the EPA. Read Kia's press release below. Start of production for all-electric Kia Soul EV Volume production of Soul EV for export is a landmark in Kia's history Ideal for commuters, Soul EV goes on sale outside Korea later in 2014 Class-leading drive range of 212 km certified for Europe 81.4 kW motor produces 285 Nm of torque for 'fun-to-drive' motoring The first vehicles off the production line are destined for select European countries and are scheduled to go on sale across the continent during the second half of the year. The Soul EV is manufactured at Kia's Gwangju facility in Korea, where annual output of the electric car is planned to reach 5,000 units. "Now that production of export models has begun, the new Soul EV is truly at the forefront of Kia's 'Clean Mobility' program, providing environmentally-friendly transport to our customers around the world," comments Thomas Oh, Executive Vice President and COO, Kia Motors Corporation.