European built, three-door Kia pro_ceed hatchbacks could be Australia-bound, along with the five-door cee’d wagon, supplementing the third generation Korean-built Cerato due to be launched there next year in five-door hatchback, sedan and Koup forms, a local report said.

Australian online publication GoAutoNews said the pro_cee’d initially was not considered a likely contender for Australia, partly because Kia’s European plant in Slovakia was expected to be stretched to supply sufficient numbers for Europe, let alone export demands.

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But, with the recession biting in Europe and the Australian dollar strong against the Euro, the Astra GTC-style hatchback [the Opel brand has just been launched Down Under – ed] is under consideration, along with the related cee’d Sportwagon, GoAuto said.

Kia Motors Australia national public relations manager Kevin Hepworth said the pro_cee’d was now “on the radar for Australia” but nothing had been finalised.

“We don’t even have a piece of paper yet,” he said.

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Kia Australia has ruled out the five-door Cee’d hatch – the volume seller in Europe because it considers it conceptually too close to the equivalent Cerato, which is also sold in the US as the Forte; it’s called the K3 at home in Korea. Variants are also assembled in China for local sale.

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If imports from Slovakia start, Kia would be the latest Asian brand in Australia to ‘top up’ its largely Asian-sourced range with niche models from Europe. Honda Australia buys its Civic sedan from Thailand but imports hatchbacks from the sole source plant, Swindon in England, and will add a UK-built diesel model to its CR-V line next year, supplementing petrol versions also imported from Thailand with which Australia has a free trade agreement.