Kia’s most successful model, the Cerato, will be bolstered by an all-new sedan version, to be followed by a five-door hatchback later in the year.
The all-new Cerato sedan is longer, lower and wider than the current car, with an extended wheelbase.
It features a re-engineered bodyshell structure; upgraded equipment with additional convenience and safety features; a more spacious cabin and an upgraded powertrain line-up that delivers class-leading fuel economy.
“Cerato is now Kia’s biggest-selling export model, so the introduction of its third-generation is hugely significant for the brand,” says Tony Barlow, Kia Motors Australia chief operating officer.
The original Kia Cerato focused on quality and price, and recorded global sales of 1.23 million units. The second-generation vehicle introduced in 2008, majored on design, quality and value. It has achieved more than 1.21 million sales around the world so far.
“We are raising our game once again with the all-new Cerato, which adds emotional appeal to its established core values of design, quality and value,” says Barlow.
“This all-new model will boost our competitiveness in the small passenger car segment, the largest and most competitive segment in our market. Second generation Cerato finished 2012 as one of the best, major manufacturer performers in its segment in terms of year to date sales, with close to 40% growth compared to 2011.”
Customers will be offered a choice of two gasoline engines – Kia’s 129 kW 2.0-litre Nu GDI engine and the 110kW 1.8-litre Nu MPI engine.
“We are confident that the all-new Cerato with its transformed appearance, broad range of new features, improved powertrains, refinement and fuel economy, will attract both existing and new customers to Kia showrooms in increasing numbers,” says Barlow.
Kia Motors’ global executive vice-president and COO, Thomas Oh, says: “When both body styles of new Cerato are on sale, we anticipate sales growth to increase, achieving annual global sales for this model approaching 500,000 units, to claim a 3.3% share of the global C1 Segment.”
The result of 42 months design, engineering and development work, and an investment of more than 300 billion Korean Won ($256 million), the third-generation Cerato models will be manufactured at Kia’s Hwasung facility in Korea.
The all-new Cerato is created to appeal to current Cerato owners and to the increasing numbers of buyers down-sizing their cars who still want a spacious and generously equipped vehicle.
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