Kia announced a major green investment in Europe while the Sussex police receive a new patrol vehicle
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The view from the Summit
Here at Summit Place Kia in metro Detroit, we wanted you to hear some of the news from Europe regarding Kia Motors plans for bringing out a number of “green” vehicles – many of which could find their way to the U.S. in the years to come.
Green initiative
Earlier this week, Kia Motors Europe announced that would bring a “raft of green vehicles” to Europe over the next few years. The focus of the nearly £2 billion ($3.3 billion) investment is to make the Hyundai-Kia Automotive group “one of the top four manufacturers of low-emission vehicles by 2012.”
According to Kia, gasoline and diesel hybrid vehicles will become available within the next two years. These follow the introduction of the Cee’d model this year with its “Idle Stop and Go” (ISG) engine start-stop system. Kia is also planning on introducing plug-in hybrid cars as well.
Mr. Sun Yung Kim, President of Kia Motors Europe, said: “The Hyundai-Kia Group is determined to bring affordable and usable green technology to the European consumer. We expect demand for environmentally friendly and low-emission vehicles will pick up strongly as the global market emerges from the current recession and we are determined to be ready to meet that demand from our customers.”
Kia is also testing fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) with the latest model having a range in excess of 350 miles on a single tank of hydrogen. The company is also committed to developing an FCV, by 2015 that can be mass produced with traditional assembly methods.
Sussex police have Soul
In other news, Sussex Kia dealer Toll House donated a brand new Kia Soul to the Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) of Horsham South (specifically the town of Steyning), part of the Horsham District of North Downs in Sussex.
The Steyning-based police team will be using the Soul as part of their regular patrols. “The car is as highly visible as we are,” said PCSO Charlotte Whittaker. “We were delighted to have been given a car, but to have one that turns heads as swiftly as this one does only helps us become more visible to the public.”
The Neighborhood Policing Team will be patrolling the villages from Upper Breeding to Henfield and will have the use of the police-branded Kia Soul Shaker model for a year, with a replacement vehicle after the first 6 months.
The Sussex police Soul Shaker’s color is vanilla-cream with black and white Houndstooth print seats and features 18-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass and an LCD display rear-view mirror for reverse parking assist.
