Technically, the 2011 Kia Sportage has been on sale in the UAE for more than a month now. However, the local dealer for Kia, Al Majid Motors, chose to hold the “official” launch of the new Sportage alongside the opening of their brand new showroom in Deira, Dubai.
The Korean-built Kia Picanto was voted the most reliable new car in the United Kingdom in a survey by UK consumer watchdog magazine Which? Car. Incidentally, the UK-built Land Rover LR3 placed last in the list.
It looks like Oman is the first country in the GCC to receive the all-new 2011 Kia Sportage. Apparently launched by the middle of June, the new Sportage offers similar equipment packages to the Hyundai Tucson, on which it is based.
Audio interview with S.K. Ahmad, the Marketing & Business Development Manager of Al Majid Motors, the UAE dealer for Kia. Topics include the company’s new models such as the Cadenza and the Sorento, as well as their future plans for the local market.
Kia fans and enthusiasts will get the chance to test drive some of their favourite cars during the 2009 Kia Road Show, touring the country through October with stops at the four major emirates.
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, has become the fourth largest auto manufacturer in the world. Based on figures from the Automotive News Data Centre, the Korean carmaker has overtaken Ford, which saw its sales fall by more than 30% in 2009.
Kia Motors Corporation announced today its global sales figures for passenger cars (export sales, domestic sales, and sales from overseas plants), recreational vehicles (RVs), and commercial vehicles for July 2009, recording a total of 143,588 units sold. This marks a year-on-year increase of 17.5%.
The 2009 Kia Sportage will be the recipient of a minor facelift. It is due to be launched soon, unless it is already in local showrooms and we were not told about it. Incidentally, this new version has already been on sale in China for a while now.
The unloved Kia Cerato is on its way to the grave. Not a bad car overall, it just couldn’t compete with the usual Japanese appliances. So much so that Kia has completely redesigned their new compact offering, now calling it the Forte.
The Kia Mohave is apparently for sale in the GCC already. We only find out about local Kia news through third-party sources, since the Kia’s regional reps generally suck at communication. I found out through a billboard on the street. We also believe the truck-based offroadable Mohave is only available in “280 hp” 3.8-litre V6 form. We already reported on the Mohave before. Anyway, I am using this opportunity to announce that from now on, I’ll start replacing the term “4WD” with the term “SUV” in reference to such vehicles.