New Kia Cee´d To Have Best-in-Europe Warranty

• Revolutionary Kia 7-Year warranty is a ´first´ for the auto industry in Europe
• 7-Year / 150,000 kilometre warranty for every new Kia cee´d
  

The all-new Kia family of cee´d models will be backed by the ´best´ new vehicle warranty ever offered, by any manufacturer, on cars marketed in Europe*. Every Kia cee´d marketed by Kia Motors Europe will benefit from a 7-year / 150,000 kilometre new car warranty, comprising five years cover on the entire car and an additional two years cover for the powertrain. The warranty will be free and transferable to subsequent owners, provided the vehicle is regularly maintained in accordance with the servicing schedule.

"Kia has taken the bold step of introducing a surprising warranty for the model which will unquestionably demonstrate our brand´s ´Power to Surprise´ to consumers in Europe," enthused Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. "The Kia cee´d is truly a landmark model in our brand´s history and its debut marks the start of a new era.

"The Kia cee´d is going to be a great car, a genuine challenger for top honours against the established stars in the closely-fought C-segment. Thanks to the high quality of vehicles coming from our brand-new facility in Slovakia, Kia is delighted to demonstrate its commitment to delivering maximum customer satisfaction, together with lowered costs of vehicle ownership by offering this revolutionary warranty. We view this warranty as an
important long-term corporate customer relations measure," added SVP Lievens.

The 7-Year warranty is a further endorsement of Kia´s three core brand values - quality, trustworthy, dynamic.

Contract Hire Boosting UK Mitsubishi Sales

The amount of dealers and brokers offering Contract Hire and Leasing options in the UK is at an all time high.

Mitsubishi UK is one of those Manufacturers benefiting enormously from this resurgence in sales through its partner schemes and well informed dealer networks.

Leading the sales charts is the new L200 Pickup, although Shogun and Shogun Sports models are still popular, with its all new design, powerful 2.5 litre, DOHC, direct injection diesel engines producing almost 20% more power, 30% more torque, and, at 32.5 mpg on the combined cycle, almost 20% greater fuel efficiency than its predecessor.

Leasing a Mitsubishi L200 for your business has never been more affordable, with rentals starting from as little £215* per month for the previous Trojan with leather interior. Contract Hire is a rental product where the monthly rentals for a vehicle are based on the period of hire, the annual mileage, the vehicle price and the anticipated future value of the vehicle. Service and maintenance cover can be introduced.

On a contract hire agreement, you pay an initial payment of three or six monthly rentals and this is followed by equal monthly rentals over the 2 or 3 year period of the contract. At the end of the agreement, as long as you have fulfilled the mileage and condition requirements, you simply return the vehicle.

The news comes at a time when Mitsubishi is increasing it's European production showing a 44.9 percent increase year-on-year to 6,495 units due to brisk sales of the new Colt CZC cabriolet model.

McCowan Steps Up At Kia In Short Term

In order to provide top-level leadership and to address internal process and structural issues, Kia Motors (UK) Limited has announced that Hamish McCowan, currently Aftersales Director will take on the interim position of Operations Director.

McCowan (pictured), 44, joined the Kia business in 2000 and became Head of Aftersales in 2003. He was promoted to Director of Aftersales, General Affairs and Learning and Development at the beginning of this year. Previously he held various posts in the UK motor trade and in the automotive industry in Australia.

He commented: “Operationally it is essential to our future success that the business, as a whole delivers a professional service of the highest standards to all related stakeholders. This can only be achievable through the identification, resolution and the implementation of alternative and innovative operational methods of approach ensuring that they align with our strategic intent and brand values.”

Mr B. K. Jang, President of Kia Motors (UK) Limited said: “It was clear that since the departure of Paul Williams there was a gap in our structure and although we have begun a process to appoint a permanent successor it was vital that we put in place someone to ensure that our internal business operations were continuing to deliver the competitive advantage we have built over recent years.

“Hamish will be looking at every aspect of the operations and will analyse, evaluate and assess all internal aspects of our business and, where applicable, will implement changes to fit with our current strategy,” he added.

All other Kia Motors (UK) Limited directors and senior managers continue to be responsible for their own aspects of the business and will be working with McCowan to ensure the cohesive development of the company to allow it to continue to achieve its sales objectives in the short and mid terms.

Kia Motors (UK) Limited is currently undertaking a process of identifying and appointing a permanent Managing Director.

All Park Systems Go!!

When the 2006 ANCRO National Gravel rally series heads to its penultimate round, the Park Systems Rally, this weekend, SG Petch Motorsport driver Stephen Petch Junior will be hoping to put his recent experiences on the Isle of Man behind him and focus on the 2006 Evo Cup, a series in which Stephen currently lies 2nd, 10 points of the lead.

After winning the last round of the Mitsubishi Evo cup, back on July’s dusty Swansea Bay Rally in Wales, Stephen experienced a painful Rally Isle of Man only 1 week later. After being delayed early on due to accidents ahead of him, Stephen would himself have a huge crash when his SG Petch Scalextric Team Mitsubishi Evo IX was caught out in the tricky conditions on one of the most challenging rounds of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship.

Stephen, co-driven as ever by Michael Wilkinson, lost control of the Mitsubishi on an extremely slippery section, and after mounting an embankment the pair came to a very sudden halt against a rock wall. Although the car was pretty badly damaged the pair escaped unscathed, but would be very painful for a couple of weeks after the accident.

With the car not yet ready the team must use another Mitsubishi for this weekends event, presenting Stephen with yet another handicap ahead of round 6 of the Mitsubishi Cup as he will need to adjust to the new car as he regains confidence on the events tricky and often rough surfaces.

The Yorkshireman commented: "The Park Systems is not too far from my home, compared to the events in Wales, and I’m hoping to regain my confidence pretty quickly on this event. We had a pretty troubled run here last yea, loosing time with a lot of punctures, but I’m hoping we can reverse that this weekend. It’s also a gravel event, and I feel a lot more confident on the loose stuff."

The 2006 Park Systems Rally, round 7 of the ANCRO Gravel Rally Championship, begins at 9am from Riverside, Newton Stuart, with the first car expected back at the finish at around 4:30pm.

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