Kia aims for green top four

Kia will bring a 'raft of green vehicles' to Europe over the next few years.

It's part of a commitment to develop green technology with Kia's sister company Hyundai.

With nearly 2 billion of investment committed to 'green growth', The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group wants to become 'one the top four manufacturers of low-emission vehicles by 2012.'

Affordable green technology
Kia says petrol and diesel hybrid vehicles will be available within the next two years, following the introduction of Cee'd models with its 'Idle Stop and Go' (ISG) engine start-stop system. Plug-in hybrid cars are also in the pipeline.

Mr Sun Yung Kim, President of Kia Motors Europe, said: 'The Hyundai-Kia Group is determined to bring affordable and usable green technology to the European consumer.

'We expect demand for environmentally friendly and low-emission vehicles will pick up strongly as the global market emerges from the current recession and we are determined to be ready to meet that demand from our customers.'

Fuel-cell vehicles are also in development, with Kia's latest model capable of driving more than 350 miles on a single charge of hydrogen.

Kia says that it's committed to developing fuel-cell vehicles that can be easily built on traditional production lines by 2015.