Big plans for small cars from Kia

• Kia wants to double European sales
• More small cars due to make this happen
• What Car? sees secret small MPV, too

More Information

• More pictures

Latest News

• Renault Fluence ZE review
• Alpina D5 Bi-Turbo review
• Geneva 2012: Audi TT RS plus
• Fiat Punto Twinair review

Related stories

• Detroit 2007: your guide to the show
• Cee'd Wagon - pictures & more details
• Cee'd cabrio on show at Geneva
• Seven-year all-over warranty for Cee'd
• New Kia 4x4 concept car on show
• Convertibles worth waiting for?
• Kia Sorento recall
• Kia bids to slash emissions

Kia will put the emphasis on small cars as it seeks to almost double sales in Europe to 500,000 a year by 2010.

The Cee'd range will be completed later this year - the five-door recently went on sale, the estate arrives in August and a sporty-looking three-door based on last year's Procee'd concept car follows in December. Then Kia will turn its attention to cars in the next class down.

First to arrive will be a small 4x4 based on the Soul concept revealed at the 2006 Detroit motor show and confirmed for production at the same venue this January.

Whatcar.com has seen a still-secret small MPV to rival the Nissan Note and Vauxhall Meriva. That car will go into production in 2009.

More changes
In the same time frame, Kia will also replace or refresh most models in its line-up, starting with the tiny Picanto this autumn.

There will be an all-new Cerato next year, though it may not come to the UK: the current Cerato was axed here as soon as the similar-sized Cee'd arrived.

The Magentis family saloon will be face-lifted in 2008 and a replacement for Kia's largest 4x4, the Sorento, comes along in 2009.

Meanwhile, Kia has more than 10,000 back-orders for the European-built five-door Cee'd, launched at the start of this year.

Production of the Sportage, Kia's rival for the Land Rover Freelander, switches to the same factory at Zilina in Slovakia in July, which will shorten delivery times.

However, Kia has not yet said whether the Sportage will then get the seven-year warranty offered on Cee'd.