PLANTING THE CEED AT KIA

The launch of the upgraded Kia Ceed, now in its 3rd generation makes me look back at when I started at Kia, when the first generation was launched.??

From the beginning of the Ceed development 15 years ago, we had an open-minded approach to body styles.?

We built a new European Operations department from scratch. We established a vision of being the company’s “think tank”. We coordinated responsibilities across all European departments and markets.?

The first generation was available with four engine options (2 petrol, 2 diesel), five trim levels, and a choice of manual or automatic transmission.

In 2014 as the 2nd generation of the Ceed sprouted. Kia was creating sustainable CO2 plans and moving into carsharing and future mobility ideas across Europe.

The Ceed was more efficient, refined, and had improved driving experience.?

In 2015, we released the ProCeed and our sporty Ceed GT to compliment our growing line.

The stylish Ceed GT included beautiful side sill mouldings and rear LED lights with a 1.0-litre ‘T-GDI’ engine.

In 2019, the Ceed branched out with new body types to attract a bigger audience to our brand.?

The three-door ProCeed sprouted our Kia XCeed urban crossover and the ProCeed five-door shooting brake.

The newer models adopted our Tiger Nose grille and updated Ceed headlamps.

Now in 2021, we have a great new brand logo and design philosophy. We are seeing wonderful success with the launch of our new EV6 AND now...our new Kia Ceed!

Our Ceed cars - the 5-door hatchback, sports wagon estate, and shooting brake - continue to inspire with a new redesigned front-end, sporty rear updates, and new powertrains.?

The Ceed has 28% of Kia’s European market share and still is one of the best-selling brands across all segments in Europe.

The Ceed and I have been on many adventures together since its planting 15 years ago. I am looking forward to its continued growth as it begins under our “Movement That Inspires!”