The latest Kia Ceed will make its public debut at the Geneva motor show on 6th March, as the Korean brand seeks to take a significantly bigger slice of the family hatch market.
Kia wants to take more sales from the Ford Focus, consistently one of the top three sellers in the entire UK car market. So the third-generation Ceed will boast much more distinctive styling than its predecessor to increase its presence. This is said to have been evolved from the styling of the Stinger coupe launched late in 2017.
And part of the growth strategy involves a subtle change to the car’s name. The quirky, much-derided and often mis-spelt cee’d has made way for Ceed.
The new Ceed will be produced in three body styles and Kia intends to unveil the five-door hatch and one more as yet unnamed form at the Swiss show. It is expected to be the estate – likely to appear in showrooms alongside the hatch .
Range-topper to follow
A range-topping shooting brake variant is not likely to join the range until 2019 and is expected to be based on the Proceed concept displayed at the Frankfurt show in September 2017.
The new Ceed is being heavily promoted as a European car. It has been designed at the brand’s European design centre in Frankfurt, Germany and engineered exclusively using European roads as the benchmark. Kia is promising significant improvements in road manners, refinement and driver engagement compared to the outgoing model.
A new engine range is also expected to debut with the car, meeting the latest emissions requirements due to be introduced later this year. The three-cylinder 1-litre turbo unit recently launched in the Picanto and Rio is also set to be offered in the Ceed.
First examples of the new Ceed will go on sale first in left-hand drive European markets, in the second quarter of the year. Kia is yet to announce when the first right-hand-drive versions will arrive in showrooms.
