Kia Motors’ global sales increased by 21% during the last quarter - that is from April to June- compared to the same period in 2010. South Korea’s second-largest carmaker sold 621,000 units in that period, largely due to the increase in US sales.

Kia’s progress in the American market was impressive as it recorded a 67% increase in profits and 36% in sales, largely due to the surge in sales of its new Optima sedan and Sportage SUV.

Kia walked away with no less than four awards from the inaugural Automotive Brand Contest organized by the German Design Council. The most important was that of “Best of Best” for overall brand design, acknowledging Kia’s new styling language.

The other three awards were won in the Exterior category by the latest Sportage, the Optima sedan and the new Rio.

Hyundai and Kia have a strange, symbiotic relationship. They share factories, parts as well as engineering knowhow and product testing duties. And yet they remain separate entities with their own marketing, distribution and styling departments.

Michael Sprague, Kia’s VP for marketing and communication describes their relationships to the New York Times likes this:

“Kia Motors America operates as a completely separate sales, marketing and distribution organization in the United States. [Hyundai and Kia share engineering efficiencies] similar in many ways to other global automakers.”

The South Korean division of General Motors has agreed to a record bonus payment for its employees following a partial strike last week. This was the first organized union strike to hit GM Korea in three years and it led to a production loss of 9,700 units.

The agreement between GM Korea and the union includes a raise of basic salaries by 4.7% and, more importantly, a $6,140 (6.5 million won) bonus to each worker.

During the past few years, Kia has completely transformed its image from a manufacturer of affordable, but rather unexceptional, cars to that of an automaker that offers a stylish and coherent range, thanks in no small part to the hiring of ex-VW Group designer Peter Schreyer. Now, however, it is moving in uncharted waters if a recent report from What Car is accurate. Read more »

If there’s one thing South Korea’s Kia does better than any other automaker, it is offering especially long warranties. In Belgium, for instance, the warranties across their entire range of vehicles extend to seven years.

That’s no mean feat, though intriguingly Kia Belgium have found that a lot of new car buyers believe the seven year warranty scheme is too good to be true. Either there’s a catch, or it doesn’t cover all Kia models, or there’s some extra charges that need to be paid first.

To counteract these rumours, and gain some additional customers, Kia Belgium hooked its General Manager Benoit Morrene up to a polygraph (lie detector) and let the general public ask him questions in an online, streamlining environment.

The word on the street is that Kia will lift the covers off a sedan version of its new Rio series in a world premiere at the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show in mid-April. The new generation of the Rio was recently unveiled in hatchback form at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show earlier this month.

Making its world premiere today at the at the Seoul Motor Show, is Kia’s Naimo electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV), a B-segment sized concept car that will serve as a test-bed for the company's EV technology. Penned by Kia's international design team in Seoul, the car takes its name from the Korean word “Ne-mo”, which is pronounced ‘Neh-mo’ and means ‘square shape.

After Japan’s local automakers, foreign car companies are also rallying to support people affected by the earthquake and the tsunami that hit the Asian nation on Friday. BMW has offered an emergency aid worth €1 million ($1.4 million) destined for the treatment of traumatized children, emergency aid and reconstruction work. The money will be split evenly between the international non-profit organization “Save the Children” and the Japanese Red Cross. Read more »

After Japan’s local automakers, foreign car companies are also rallying to support people affected by the earthquake and the tsunami that hit the Asian nation on Friday. BMW has offered an emergency aid worth €1 million ($1.4 million) destined for the treatment of traumatized children, emergency aid and reconstruction work. The money will be split evenly between the international non-profit organization “Save the Children” and the Japanese Red Cross. Read more »

Kia has issued a recall on 70,115 Optima sedans manufactured from September 29, 2005, through June 13, 2007 because of a problem related to the transmission that can cause the cars to roll even while they are in park. The company said that in some cars, the transmission shift cable may have been installed incorrectly and can become detached from the shifter. If that occurs, the car would stay in the last used gear before detachment, even if the driver moves the shift lever to the park position. Read more »

Kia has issued a recall on 70,115 Optima sedans manufactured from September 29, 2005, through June 13, 2007 because of a problem related to the transmission that can cause the cars to roll even while they are in park. The company said that in some cars, the transmission shift cable may have been installed incorrectly and can become detached from the shifter. If that occurs, the car would stay in the last used gear before detachment, even if the driver moves the shift lever to the park position. Read more »

It appears that the Soul is the next vehicle in Kia’s list to receive an update. Caught here in testing in Germany by our spy photographers, the bagged-up ends do their job to hide the Soul’s stylistic upgrades with the only visible change being the redesigned exterior mirrors that house the turning lights.

However, it is expected that the Soul will take some cues from the new Picanto and Rio hatchbacks (both of which were revealed at the Geneva Motor Show) such as the pulled back headlamps and more pronounced bumpers. An interior rework may also be in the cards.

It appears that the Soul is the next vehicle in Kia’s list to receive an update. Caught here in testing in Germany by our spy photographers, the bagged-up ends do their job to hide the Soul’s stylistic upgrades with the only visible change being the redesigned exterior mirrors that house the turning lights.

However, it is expected that the Soul will take some cues from the new Picanto and Rio hatchbacks (both of which were revealed at the Geneva Motor Show) such as the pulled back headlamps and more pronounced bumpers. An interior rework may also be in the cards.

Kia has released details and pricing on its new turbocharged 2011 Sportage SX compact CUV, scheduled to arrive in the firm's U.S. showrooms later this month. The Sportage SX is Kia's second vehicle in the States to feature the company's 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with direct-injection technology and a twin-scroll turbocharger that delivers 256 horsepower and 264 pound-feet of peak torque.