KIA REVEALS NEW SUV CONCEPTS AT THE 2019 SEOUL MOTOR SHOW

• World premiere for rugged Kia ‘Masterpiece’ concept
• New ‘Signature’ concept previews upcoming compact SUV
• Asian debut for fully-electric ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept
• Exhibition of latest tech innovations from the brand, including R.E.A.D, Kia’s Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving system

 

Kia Motors has revealed a trio of new concepts at the 2019 Seoul Motor Show today, previewing the brand’s future design direction.

Two of the three concepts make their international debut in Seoul, with the rugged Kia ‘Masterpiece’ taking center stage, combining a large SUV body with a luxurious, high-tech cabin. The Masterpiece is accompanied by the Kia ‘Signature’, a new concept model which previews the design and layout of an upcoming compact SUV from the brand.

 

The cars are joined by the ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept car, an all-electric sports sedan which embodies Kia’s desire to create exciting low-emissions passenger cars.

 

While each of the concepts hint at the direction Kia’s designers could take in future, each also illustrates different elements of the brand’s future model strategy. An expanding range of SUVs and crossover models has provided the impetus for Kia’s long-term sales growth around the world. The Masterpiece and Signature both provide an insight into how Kia could develop its model line-up in future, in terms of design, layout and use of technology. The ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept also previews how the brand plans to excite drivers with electrified vehicles in future, creating stunning exterior and interior design, with intelligent packaging and cutting-edge technologies.

 

Kia Masterpiece – a rugged and robust large SUV concept

The Kia Masterpiece concept makes its first public appearance, with a rugged and robust large SUV. The Masterpiece hints at how the brand could adapt its latest designs and features for the large off-road SUV segment.

 

Like other recent Kia models, the exterior of the car is characterized by sculpted bodywork and bold lines. Combined with a purposeful SUV stance and raised body, and a powerful all-wheel drive system, its rugged looks are matched by true ‘go-anywhere’ capability.

 

The front of the car features a new incarnation of Kia’s iconic grille, the ‘tiger nose’ – yet, extended outwards across the whole front section of the concept, with no clear boundaries between grille and LED headlamps. The design of the front of the car is echoed in the rear of the car, with signature lines at both ends of the vehicle giving the car a consistent design all round.

 

New Signature concept previews upcoming Kia compact SUV

Following the launch of the Kia SP Concept at the India’s Auto Expo 2018 in Delhi, Kia today reveals an evolution of the design, with the international debut of the Signature concept.

 

Driven by advanced technology, the Kia SP Concept hints at the company’s plans to introduce a new small SUV for its global markets. Bold and stylish, the Signature combines sophisticated beauty, breakthrough technology, and high functionality in a smart, compact package.

 

With a wide grille and long hood at the front, and a rear design which emphasizes stability with wide rear lamps and body lines, the Signature stands out on the road. At the front, its lamps are connected to the ‘tiger nose’ grille, with integrated daytime running lamps. Its strong shoulder line, with a glasshouse which tapers towards the rear of the car, lends the compact SUV an air of understated sportiness. The exterior is completed with a series of distinct styling features, contributing to the car’s contemporary, technical design. These include thin LED lamps at the front and rear, sharp lines pressed into the bodywork, and precise metallic details.

 

As eye-catching as the latest Kia production cars, the Signature heralds the forthcoming arrival of a model for young trend-setters. The concept previews a production-ready compact SUV from Kia, due to be revealed for the first time later in 2019. The concept’s design will also influence future models destined for Kia’s global markets.

 

Asian debut for fully-electric ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept

The ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept, revealed recently at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, now makes its Asian debut in Seoul. The fully-electric sports sedan concept has been designed at Kia’s European design center in Frankfurt, Germany.

 

Gregory Guillaume, Vice President of Design for Kia Motors Europe, comments: “We imagined designing an all-electric car that not only answered consumer concerns around range, performance, recharging networks and driving dynamism, but one that also gave you goose bumps when you looked at it, and made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you drove it. That’s why our all-electric concept is designed to not only get your pulse racing, but to also signpost our holistic and emotional approach to electrification.”

 

A visual embodiment of the brand’s desire to move forward into the exciting world of electrification, this concept is Kia’s first pure electric four-door passenger car. Intentionally designed to sit outside the industry’s predefined vehicle categories, it coherently draws together elements of a muscular sports utility vehicle, a sleek and athletic family saloon and a versatile and spacious crossover. The ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept represents a more progressive Kia design language for the future, with intelligent reinterpretations of existing Kia motifs and a bodywork characterized by a blend of tautly-drawn sheet metal, crisp lines, and efficient aerodynamics.

 

Kia’s European design team fully exploited the chassis architecture of the powertrain’s all-electric layout to maximize cabin space and create an airy and spacious interior. In a humorous riposte to the industry’s current obsession with ever increasing dashboard screens, the concept features 21 individual ultra high-resolution screens. These curve across the top of the dashboard in a layout that is at the same time both casual and coordinated.

 

While not immediately destined for production, the ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept hints at interior and exterior design elements that could be adapted for future production models from the brand.

 

Kia R.E.A.D. – Seoul debut for Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving technologies

Kia will exhibit a range of its latest technologies at the Seoul Motor Show, with a series of innovations developed for the post-autonomous driving era.

 

First revealed at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the United States, Kia’s Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving (R.E.A.D.) system looks to a future when autonomous driving is the norm and priority is given to improving the human mobility experience.

 

The world-first technology optimizes and personalizes the cabin, analyzing a driver’s emotional state in real-time through artificial intelligence-based bio-signal recognition technology. The technology monitors a driver’s emotional state and tailors the interior environment according to its assessment – potentially altering conditions relating to the human senses within the cabin, creating a more enjoyable mobility experience. AI deep-learning technology enables the system to establish a baseline in user behavior, and then identify patterns and trends to customize the cabin accordingly.

 

The R.E.A.D. system is featured alongside V-Touch, a world-first virtual touch-type gesture control technology which employs a 3D camera to monitor users’ eyes and fingertip. V-Touch allows occupants to manage several in-car features using simple finger gestures, adapting cabin lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) and entertainment systems. The system potentially eliminates the need for buttons or a touchscreen interface.

 

Another feature of the innovative R.E.A.D. system is Kia’s music-response vibration seat technology, where occupants ‘feel’ their favorite songs as they listen to them. The sensory-based signal processing technology adapts seat vibrations according to music sound frequencies. The vibration seats also feature a ‘massage’ mode to increase comfort, and can enhance safety with haptic warnings linked to advanced driver-assist systems.

 

Visitors to Kia’s Seoul Motor Show booth can experience the R.E.A.D. system for themselves with guided tours around the technology.

KIA TEAMS WITH AMAZON TO PROVIDE ONE-STOP HOME-CHARGING SOLUTIONS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Offering Makes Home-Charging Incredibly Easy

• Kia EV and PHEV customers can now order a home charger and installation through Amazon at www.amazon.com/ChargeMyKia
• Services backed by Amazon’s Happiness Guarantee

IRVINE, Calif., March 14, 2017 — Today Kia Motors America (KMA) began a new program with Amazon to provide plug-in vehicle customers with easy, one-stop shopping for a home charger and installation services using the same easy digital Amazon shopping experience they have come to love.

Before they even bring home their new Soul EV, Niro EV, Niro PHEV or Optima PHEV, customers can visit www.amazon.com/ChargeMyKia to learn everything anyone needs to know about choosing a charger, having it installed, and charging at home. At the website, they will find recommended Level 2 or 240-volt charging units selected by Kia, information about EV home charging installation and helpful reviews from other Amazon customers. And they can see upfront pricing for electrical services and schedule a licensed electrician to install an EV charger and a 240-volt outlet if needed. Amazon’s Happiness Guarantee backs all home charging installation services, so customers know it will be done to their satisfaction and they can rest assured that their vehicle is supported by Kia’s excellent warranty.

“Home-charging can’t get any easier than this,” says Orth Hedrick, executive director of Car Planning and Telematics, KMA. “Being able to order a Level 2 charger and installation through Amazon further demystifies and simplifies the experience for new Kia EV and PHEV owners. It’s just another example of how we’re constantly striving to provide the very best vehicles and customer experience.”

Imagine by Kia: a new all-electric concept car revealed

5 March 2019 – Kia Motors has revealed its new all-electric concept car, ‘Imagine by Kia’, at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show.

“Automotive design is about capturing the heart and making it beat that bit faster for that bit longer. We believe that there’s absolutely no reason why that should change simply because the car is electric,” says Gregory Guillaume, Vice President of Design for Kia Motors Europe. “That’s why our all-electric concept is designed to not only get your pulse racing, but to also signpost our holistic and emotional approach to electrification.”

“Today’s drivers understandably have many questions about electric cars. They’re concerned about range, the recharging network, and whether electric cars will still be dynamic and engaging to drive. So, when we first started thinking about this concept and imagining what its role would be, we knew that the best way to answer those questions and address those concerns was by approaching electrification purely from an emotional point of view.”

This human-centric attitude is perfectly aligned with Kia’s attitude on automotive design, as Guillaume explains. “When they talk about their electric cars, many car makers promote the same rational and empirical data-driven messages as they do with their internal combustion engined cars, such as range, economy and performance criteria.”

“Kia prides itself on its power to surprise, which is why we wanted to move away from the rational and focus on the emotional, and embrace a warmer and more human approach to electrification. After all, electricity is found within every atom, it’s the energy that flows within us and around us on our planet. Harnessing its potential has propelled us forward from one innovation to the next,” says Guillaume.

A visual embodiment of Kia’s desire to move forward in the exciting world of electrification, Imagine by Kia is the company’s first pure electric four-door passenger car. Unlike the award-winning e-Niro electric crossover, which is based on the existing architecture of the hybrid-powered Niro, Imagine by Kia is underpinned by a low-mounted, induction-charged battery pack that powers a compact drive train.

Coherently drawing together elements of a muscular sports utility vehicle, a sleek and athletic family saloon, and a versatile and spacious crossover, Imagine by Kia is intentionally designed to not sit within the industry’s predefined vehicle categories.

“It’s a large C-segment car – the vehicle size that’s incredibly popular in Europe – but the only things it holds on to are Kia’s brand values,” explains Guillaume. “It hints at something familiar, but is something entirely new. I think of it as a category-buster, and a disruptor – it’s familiar and understood but at the same time progressive and new.”

Intelligently reinterpreting Kia’s iconic ‘tiger nose’ grille, Imagine by Kia features a bold new illuminated ‘tiger mask’ that encircles the main LED headlamp units. Separated by horizontal ‘eyelids’, the dipped and main beam units are housed with a single block of clear acrylic glass, creating the effect of piercing eyes floating free of visible support. This striking ‘tiger mask’ creates a distinctive and recognizable lighting motif that instantly marks this out as a Kia for the 21st Century.

“The inspiration for the ‘tiger mask’ was to create the look and feel of the headlamps being suspended within a transparent block of glass,” explains Guillaume. “This identifiable lighting signature could potentially be deployed as a unifying design element across Kia’s future electric vehicle range.”

The human approach to the design is encapsulated by the ruches adorning its front air-curtain and flanks. Each impulse ripple has a different length and is positioned at a different angle to the next so that light falling on the car’s flanks constantly creates the impression of movement.

“There’s a great sense of tension and purity in the car’s tautly-drawn sheet metal and the crisp    shoulder-line crease that runs around the entire car. I wanted to introduce an element to create a rippling effect in the metal, much like the shock waves you would see if you threw a stone into a perfectly still mountain lake,” Guillaume says.

The paintwork is a further example of warmth and approachability. Six hand-applied layers of        chrome-effect silver paint are covered in a tanned bronze tint that looks warm and inviting to the touch. Highly sensitive to changing light conditions, the depth and sheen further enhances the concept’s curves and contours.

A single sheet of glass is used for both the windscreen and roof, flowing from the base of the A-pillar and over the cabin to create a vast sky-window, before tapering into a double-bubble over the rear passenger compartment. The rakishness of the car’s high shoulders and narrow glasshouse are further enhanced by an illuminated dynamic streak that draws the eye from the A-pillar into the C-pillar, ending with an integrated lateral turn signal.

The front turn signals, located high up on the sharp-edged bonnet, feature illuminated glowing elements that appear to float in fins of clear acrylic glass. The rear lights are equally compelling. The turn signals are housed within deep-set tunnels to create a three-dimensional effect, with the looped lights extending outwards as they grow in size. Horizontal wrap-around brake light strips create a visual link with the Kia Stinger.

The lighting systems play a key role in underlining the concept car’s friendliness and accessibility. “The flush-fitting Kia script on the front of the concept lights up and glows as the driver approaches the car, followed by the illuminated tiger mask – a welcoming gesture to the driver at the start of the journey,” explains Guillaume.

Even the wheels contribute to the visual relationship that the car has with the movement of light. Each of the 22-inch alloy wheels has four flush inserts of transparent acrylic glass, polished at the front and diamond cross-cut at the back, to reflect and refract the light, much like a cut diamond would, as the wheels move. The wheels themselves are shod with bespoke Goodyear 255/35 R22 Intelligrip EV concept tyres.*

Guillaume and his design team also focused a great deal of their attention on the vehicle’s aerodynamics, ensuring the car sliced as cleanly as possible through the air to reduce turbulence and extend its range.

“The front air curtain; the way the double-skin bonnet channels air through the nose, up and over the front screen and roof; the double skinned C-pillar that creates an air spoiler; the completely enclosed underbody; the wind-cheating ‘wing cams’ and the hard-edged break-away around the car’s rear – all these features collectively boost aerodynamic efficiency and reduce turbulence and drag,” Guillaume explains.

“We wanted the interior to have a twinkle in its eye, to be full of surprising and delightful touches that amuse, engage and attract both driver and passenger alike,” explains Ralph Kluge, Kia Motors Europe’s general manager of interior design.

The layout of the powertrain created a chassis architecture that is distinctly different to that of a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. It’s a layout that Guillaume and his team fully exploited to maximize cabin space and create an airy and spacious interior – and one with a wry sense of humor, too.

21 individual ultra high-resolution screens curve their synchronized way across the top of the dashboard in a layout that’s at the same time both casual and coordinated. It takes just a single glance to understand what Kluge means. “These 21 incredibly thin screens are a humorous and irreverent riposte to the on-going competition between some automotive manufacturers to see who can produce the car with the biggest screen,” says Kluge.

They may form a striking sculptural feature that neatly ties in with the rippling and light-reflecting exterior design motifs, but this screen-wall is also highly functional. It effectively creates a single unified display from the driver’s point of view, without the ever-increasing bulk and rigidity of traditional in-car        displays – a fresh and witty approach on how to move away from traditional fixed screens.

“It’s an immersive display delivering information on the car’s climate control, birds-eye navigation, drive and media systems. The screens will also display a raft of Kia concepts from years gone by to create an emotional link between past, present and future,” says Kluge. “With this arresting combination of artistry and information we’re drawing on memories of our past in a car that’s heading straight into our future.”

The cabin’s sense of light-heartedness is underpinned by the striking shock wave design of the four leather and silk-covered seats. “We wanted to create a polarity between how the chairs look and feel. Their diamond cross-cut shells look slim and lightweight but they are actually incredibly strong and robust,” adds Kluge, “and when you sit in them, you discover that the seats are very comfortable and supportive.”

The cabin’s airy atmosphere is further enhanced by the floating center console that, like a wing, hovers independently above the low and flat floor. The doors – rear-hinged at the back for greater access – are swathed in a metallic fabric and leather, visually splitting the cabin into two distinct upper and lower levels. “The goal was to create an interior that felt de-cluttered rather than de-contented,” says Kluge. “This approach is also reflected in the tactile sculpted steering wheel and the pedals that are recessed when the car is stationary.”

The versatility of the all-electric architecture has not only enabled the Kia design team to create this open and spacious interior for passengers, but also for their luggage. Imagine by Kia boasts two capacious load bays: a ‘frunk’ front trunk and a traditional rear storage area accessed through the glass hatch.

“As you all know, Kia prides itself on our power to surprise, and it’s this unorthodox approach that fired our collective imagination, moving us away from the rational, to embrace a warmer and more human approach to electrification,” says Guillaume.

“We imagined designing an all-electric car that not only answered consumer concerns around range, performance, recharging networks and driving dynamism, but one that also gave you goose bumps when you looked at it, and made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you drove it.

“We imagined a future where engaging and dynamic cars like this were an integral part of our transport requirements. So it will come as no surprise then that we have named our new concept ‘Imagine by Kia’. And its message is clear,” says Guillaume. “It’s time to free your imagination, to stop wondering and to start driving!”