Kia Motors was among the biggest winners at the Automotive Brand Contest 2014, an annual international design competition run by the German Design Council for automotive brands. The independent jury for the awards picked Kia as the winner in three categories.
The Kia design team, led by Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Designer of Kia Motors Corporation and Hyundai Motor Group, won the -˜Team of the Year’ title for its work across three continents. Kia Motors has design centers in Korea, California and Germany.
Two prizes were also awarded to Kia vehicles. The Kia Provo, a sporty B-segment concept car unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, was named -˜Best of Best’ in the Concepts category, while the second generation of the cult compact SUV, the Kia Soul, was distinguished as -˜Winner’ in the Exterior Volume Brand category. The award presentation took place on October 1st at the Paris Motor Show.
The Provo boasts all the advantages of cutting-edge materials and technologies, such as a smart four-wheel drive hybrid powertrain. It combines a Turbo GDI engine producing 150 kW with an electric motor delivering an additional power surge to the rear wheels when required, and also allowing for emissions-free, electric-only motion at low speeds.
For the new Kia Soul this latest title is the third prestigious design award after the -˜IF product design award’ and the -˜red dot award’. The exterior design of the second model generation was created at Kia’s design center in Irvine, California.
Compared with the original Kia Soul, it is a completely new car with a new design, interior and vehicle platform -“ but its character and distinguishing features have been preserved: the upright, self-confident posture, broad shoulders, characteristic window graphics, the high positioning of the rear lights and its SUV-like ground clearance.
