Owners of the all-new Kia vehicles around the World have expressed extreme satisfaction with their new cars as all products earned top honors in their respective categories in Strategic Vision's 2006 Total Value Index (TVI); JD Power & Associates awards as well as MPV of the year 2005 – 2006 awards.
"All these prestigious awards obtained by J.D Powers & Associates, the global marketing and information firm, and other respectful organizations, demonstrate KIA’s determination to maintain its leading position, symbolizing safety, Quality and reliable vehicles”, said General Manager of National Arab Motors - KIA Motors, Nihad Zacharia.
The Carnival earned a five-star crash safety rating from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and was awarded the Gold Top Safety Pick for its impressive performance with top ratings in frontal, side and rear impact crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
With six standard airbags, the new Optima continues Kia's commitment to offering the highest level of standard safety features in all of its vehicles, and the Sedan received a “Good” rating – the highest obtained – for the rear and frontal offset crash tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The 2006 Kia Rio ranked highest for initial quality in the sub-compact category according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS). The annual report, measures 217 vehicle attributes across eight categories, including driving experience, engine and transmission, and a broad range of quality problem symptoms reported by vehicle owners.
As for KIA Opirus and Sportage they both have been awarded for their owner satisfaction with vehicle Performance, Style, Features and Instrument Panel, and Comfort according to the J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Performance, Execution and layout Study (APEAL).
And finally Kia's commitment to the environment and its constant desire to improve the efficiency of its models has paid dividends with its Cerato amongst J.D. Power's (US) top-30 environmentally friendly vehicles. The Kia brand is now ranked in the top-five of the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Alternative Powertrain Study's environmentally friendly manufacturers' index (US).
KIA Motors has been a rising star on the global automotive scene. Much of this success can be attributed to the enthusiastic reception of its line-up and its solid commitment to offering the world’s consumers exceptional vehicles at an unbeatable value. The booming popularity of KIA products has cemented its position as one of the world’s fastest growing auto brands.
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com or www.kia.com) -- one of the fastest growing automakers in the world -- was founded in 1944 and is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world’s premier automotive brands. Kia’s 12 manufacturing and assembly operations in 7 countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 160 countries. Kia today has over 32,500 employees and annual revenues of almost $16 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. From 2007 to 2014, Kia will be an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan -- “The Power to Surprise” -- represents the company’s global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.
