Car Moon

Today, June 30, Kia celebrates the 20th anniversary since it sold its first ever car in the UK. In 1991, the small hatchback Pride was the only Kia model on sale in Britain and in that year, the company managed to sell just only 1,786 cars.

However, two decades is a very long time in the automotive industry. Since then Kia has changed remarkably on its way to become an important player on a global scale. In 2010, Kia sold a record 56,114 cars in the UK and, for the first time ever, more than 2 million units worldwide.

The 2012 Kia Picanto mini made its global premiere alongside the also new Rio supermini at the Geneva Motor Show today. The South Korean firm's city car will be offered for the first time with a choice of 5-door and 3-door body styles, with Kia officials expecting the new three-door model to account for 33% of Picanto sales.

Like all recent Kia models, the new Picanto benefits from a far more expressive design inside and out compared to its predecessor. It also promises to offer more space inside as the overall vehicle length has increased by 60 mm, and the wheelbase has grown by 15 mm. These increases, along with the enhanced interior packaging, offer an additional 36mm legroom for the front passengers while trunk capacity has increased by 27 per cent to 200 liters.

As pointed out by a Carscoop reader in a previous post, Kia has released images of the domestic market version of its Picanto city car, which will be sold as the Morning in South Korea. From the looks of it, there won't be any notable differences between the local and European market specification Picanto, which will receive its world premiere at the Geneva Salon in the beginning of March. You can read our previous post for more details including the powertrain options here. For the high resolution image gallery and the official brochure of the KDM Morning, follow the jump below.

Kia today revealed that its new Picanto city car, which will have its world premiere at the upcoming Geneva Salon in March, will be available with a total of four-new engines. The South Korean automaker also released the first official picture of the car's interior and added that the Picanto will go on sale across Europe this Spring.

Buyers of the new Picanto will have a choice of up to four powertrains, with the exact choice depending on individual markets. The range includes three versions of the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder Kappa engine (petrol, flex fuel and bi-fuel) and a single 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol Kappa unit. The engines will be hooked up to a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, depending on model.

Following the release of two teaser sketches in December, Kia today published real-life photos of its second generation Picanto city car, which is set to debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show in March. The 2011 Picanto will be offered in two body styles and with four all-new engines.

We've known for a while now that Kia is preparing a successor to its Picanto city car, but today, the South Korean automaker came out with a pair of official renderings and a short announcement which said the small hatchback will get its world premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2011 and go on sale in Europe in late Spring. Read more »

Two new special editions named Domino and Echo that both play on black and white color schemes are joining Kia's UK-market lineup. The Domino special edition is available on the Picanto and Rio superminis, while the Echo is offered on the Soul crossover.

Together with the facelifted 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe, the Hyundai - Kia Group today also performed the South Korean market launch of the updated 2010 Kia Morning citycar, which is sold in most parts of the world as the Picanto. This is the second facelift for the Korean mini following a gentle massage in 2007. Once again, the styling changes aren't too radical with the most visible differences concerning the reshaped front and rear bumpers, new side skirts, revised tail light clusters and a slightly altered front grille.