Kia is to add an estate body style to the next Optima, with the car to be previewed by a concept at the Geneva motor show.
Tellingly, only the front of the concept has been revealed in the sole advance image issued to the media. The existing Optima has not sold well in Europe, with the lack of a wagon one of the main reasons. Volkswagen recently noted that 90% of Passat sales in Germany last year were of the Variant (wagon).
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The production version of the sedan might appear at the New York show in April. There will also be a diesel mild hybrid for Europe, such a powertrain having been fitted to the Optima T Hybrid concept which debuted at the 2014 Paris motor show.
While the next sedan should enter production in the US (2016 Optima) and Korea (Kia K5) from the second half of this year, the estate for Europe, which might be called Optima SW, is not expected until 2016.
