Kia’s all-new Cerato four-door saloon made its European debut at the international motor show in Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday. The 4.5-metre-long Cerato will compete in the C-segment of the European market against top sellers such as the Ford Focus, Peugeot 307 and Renault Megane.
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The Cerato is the first Kia in Europe to offer a choice of petrol or diesel engines. The 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre diesel engines have common-rail injection technology; the DOHC, 16-valve petrol motors come in 1.6- or two-litre sizes, the larger unit has variable valve timing.
Kia plans on selling around 45,000 Ceratos a year by 2006. Five-door hatchback versions will make their world debut at Geneva in March.
Taller, wider and shorter than the Mentor it replaces in the UK, the new Cerato has a much longer (2.61 metre) wheelbase, and offers significantly more interior room than its predecessor.
Base LX model equipment includes tinted glass, ABS, 60/40 split folding rear seat backrest and electric front windows while the EX adds fog lamps, heated door mirrors, remote central locking with alarm, driver’s seat height adjustment and lumbar support, rear folding armrest and storage box, rear cup holders, twin front tweeters, overhead console with map lights plus sunglasses holder and front door ‘puddle lights’.
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By GlobalDataOptions include automatic transmission, dual-mode traction control, trip computer, heat-reflective solar glass, power sunroof, leather upholstery and alloy wheels.
Kia expects the five-door to be most popular in Europe but says the four-door saloon will do well in some [mostly southern] European countries and is destined to become the version of choice in the US.
The carmaker expects Cerato sales in Europe to account for 19% of the global total of 250,000 units it plans to sell in 2006, the year when sales in Korea are forecast to reach 63,000, 120,000 in North America and a further 20,000 in other export markets.
Currently, the Kia model range covers just 35% of the European market sectors but, with a host of new model introductions over the next two years, the ambitious Hyundai-owned South Korean firm plans to raise this to 85%. Its goal of 300,000 annual sales in Europe by 2005 is an achievable one, Kia Europe says.
The Cerato was designed in Korea, the USA and Europe. The project took about 40 months at a cost of approximately €220 million.
