MLAM Kia and HMG Launch EnableLA
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in South Miami Kia on Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 at 7:03 PM
We were just talking about KiaMobility and the reopening of Kia360 in Seoul, South Korea, the Kia Corp building dedicated to showing consumers future mobility solutions by the automaker. Both are aimed at creating mobility solutions, personal or public, for the average consumer. In the spirit of mobility for all, Kia Corp and the Hyundai Motor Group as a whole has launched “EnableLA” to assist people with mobility barriers in the Los Angeles area. This is also the home base for the MoceanLab project launched in 2019, also by the Hyundai Motor Group, aimed at creating mobility platforms and more diverse mobility services in Los Angeles.
Read the rest of this entry »Kia Corp Opens Kia360
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Miami Kia Dealer, South Miami Kia on Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 8:27 PM
Mobility. A single word that means a lot. The ability to move, transporting oneself from one location to another, not always using one’s feet. It can come in the form of machines, like automobiles or flying spaceships. Automakers want to make everyone mobile – after all, more people that can go mobile means more money. Not everyone can afford personal transportation though, and with the ever-growing ride hailing services out there, some automakers are looking for ways to make mobility an option for everyone, like Kia Corp. Kia recently opened a new public space for experiencing future mobility solutions and lifestyles in a more immersive way. The customer-centric brand-experiencing venue is called Kia360.
“Kia360 is a venue illuminating the purpose of Kia’s new branding: Creating the space and time that inspire our customers to bring their ideas to real life…We invite visitors to immerse themselves in Kia360’s interactive and communicative displays and catch a glimpse of Kia’s new direction for providing clean and sustainable mobility solutions, as well as stylish mobility lifestyles.” – Artur Martins, Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Brand and Customer Experience Division at Kia
Kia Corp has been in cahoots with many other businesses to create motion-centric projects and services. Possibly the largest, and currently most mysterious, is the MoceanLab created by Kia Motors and Hyundai, prior to Kia splitting Kia Motors in Corp, Kia America, and so on. Last we heard, the MoceanLab was being used to help the community during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kia and the Hyundai Motor Group as a whole also opened up the Ultimate Mobility Vehicles contract, where the automakers shook hands with New Horizons Studio to make – no joke – transforming automobiles. That’s not as crazy as another contract with Uber to create a flying aircraft hailing service – or is it?
Then there is KiaMobility. This was pretty cool – Kia started a new mobility service that offered a whole new way of owning and renting vehicles. The service itself isn’t anything new – it’s currently available in many cities under many names – anyone ever heard of HyreCar? You own a car but can rent it out via the during certain time slots when you’re not using it. That’s pretty rad for anyone who works from home these days and doesn’t have any errands to run. KiaMobility was the same premise, but strictly used Kia vehicles, of course.
On the outside, the architecture of Kia360 was designed to allow for various eye-catching lighting displays at any time of the day, as well as redesigned to the new brand-representative color scheme – Midnight Black and Polar White. A bit monochrome for an automaker that’s currently exploding with creativity. Broken down into three zones, Kia360 gives guests the ability to visit various exhibits with digital and immersive experiences to engage with. The three zones are: the Brand & Design Zone, the EV Life Zone and the Kia User Zone.
With each zone connected to the other, the experience is seamless as visitors travel through the diverse exhibits in a sequence. The first, Brand & Design, is all about the new look of Kia Corp – name, icon, and brand strategy. Broken down into three sub-zones, new Kia models are on display in the “New Journey” sub-zone, interactive digital media can be found in the “Inspiring Universe” sub-zone, and new concepts can be viewed at the “Opposites United” sub-zone.
All of the zones follow a similar pattern. The EV Life zone consists of a booth with information on various electric vehicles (EVs) and an EV charger, known as the “EV Charge” sub-zone. There is the “EV Ride”, where hoverboard participants can “navigate” on a virtual circuit and an LED screen. Lastly, guests can check out the future of connected mobility and lifestyles in the “Connected House”.
The Kia User zone is more user-related, as it says in the name, with customized consultancy for visitors who are currently in the market for a Kia vehicle. Using a digital three-dimensional configurator, the user can configure the options of the vehicle they choose. There is also an “EV Tap & Tip” sub-zone that offers visitors real-life information related to EVs. “AI Space” is probably the most interesting sub-zone, offering a virtual experience of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and Kia artificial-intelligence technology.Now here’s the catch. Kia360 is only available in Seoul, South Korea. Wah wah…It’s still something to check out if international travel ever makes it to your to-do list. Otherwise, check out new Kia models at Miami Lakes Automall.
Photo Source/Copyright: Kia
Kia EV6 Receives Carbon Measured Label from Carbon Trust
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Kia Dealers in Miami, Miami Kia Dealer, South Miami Kia on Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 2:32 AM
What is a carbon footprint? A term that started to become more familiar, maybe new for some, a couple of decades ago, is not commonplace when it comes to taking care of the planet we live on. Earth took billions of years to take shape and become habitable, so surely it has billions of years of resources and life in it right? Those billions of years happened naturally, and humans are just speeding up the sands of time. Automobiles are a huge part of the carbon footprint, and with the slow shift to greener fuel solutions, automakers like Kia Corp will be leading the way into a cleaner future. In fact, Kia Corp recently received the product carbon footprint certification and ‘Carbon Measured’ label for the Kia EV6 all-electric vehicle from the global climate change and sustainability consultancy, the Carbon Trust.
First, a carbon footprint is a term used to describe the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds produced when consuming fossil fuels like oil by a particular person, group, event, organization, service, place, or product. Everything from the food we eat to the waste we produce can play a part in someone’s carbon footprint, but mostly, it’s stuff like energy (gas vs electricity), transportation (personal vs public) and elimination of resources (waste vs recycling). We still have a long way to go, but all-electric automakers can help curb things exponentially.
“This is important validation of a broad range of measures we are now taking to reduce the carbon footprint of a vehicle throughout its lifecycle. As we introduce more electrified models to our line up over the coming years, we will step up our sustainability efforts and ensure we are achieving high levels of transparency when it comes to environmental impact. It has been great to work closely with the Carbon Trust to achieve the Carbon Measured label as one of our first steps to implement new sustainability initiatives.” – Sangdae Kim, Head of Strategic Business Planning Division at Kia
Now, the Carbon Trust is definitely a new name to us, but we may be seeing it a lot more often as more green vehicles make their debut. Just like the ABC Waymo self-driving car needs to get certification from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) before hitting the road, an all-electric vehicle should also come with its own certification. The Carbon Trust is an independent, expert partner of leading organizations around the world that advises many businesses in a variety of industries how they can achieve a sustainable, low carbon world. Just like it did with Kia Corp, the Carbon Trust certifies the environmental footprint of organizations, supply chains, and products.
When measuring the total greenhouse gas emissions, the emissions were measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) to provide consumers with information about the carbon impact of their purchase of the vehicle in question. The Kia EV6 was measured using the PAS2050 Standards as part of the Carbon Trust’s robust product assessment, reviewing the entire life cycle of the emissions from the extraction of raw materials to its eventual termination or end-of-life – we’re talking chemicals here, so if nothing is burning, then shelf-life and half-life is what we’re looking at. That could be years, decades for some. The Carbon Trust ‘Carbon Measured’ label is a validation for the accuracy of these measurements, giving consumers a better idea of how the EV6 can help them reduce their carbon footprint.Want to go green and help reduce your carbon footprint? Look for the Kia EV6 and other hybrid or electric vehicle options at Miami Lakes Automall.
Photo Source/Copyright: Kia Corp
Kia America Introduces Kia@Home
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Miami Kia Dealer, South Miami Kia on Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 1:17 AM
Shopping from home was a huge change back in the day – how do you shop for a dress or a pair of jeans without trying them on? How can you trust the condition of the item you’re getting or know that it even exists and the retailer isn’t a scam? Eventually, the trend took over, and now we have companies like Stitch Fix for finding clothes in our size and the all-mighty Bezos – I mean, Amazon – for everything else. Kia Corp is an automaker from South Korea that has been making a large name for itself lately, getting involved with the community and the youth. With the current large leap into all-electric vehicles with the new Kia EV6 and Niro EV, Kia Corp has launched a new brand to match the on-demand, at-home economy – Kia@Home.
As described, “Kia@Home” brings the ability to shop for a vehicle while at home. Called a new product and brand experience, consumers just don’t get to shop online for a new car with Kia@Home, nor are they treated to a Virtual Reality viewing through a smartphone mobile app like many automakers are starting to adopt for prospective clients. No, Kia goes a step ahead and makes it easy for consumers to get into the driver’s seat of vehicles with scheduled test drives. All one needs to do is signup for a test drive at a convenient location of their choosing and meet the agent in charge there.
Read the rest of this entry »Kia Corp Has Record Sales for July 2021
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Kia Dealer in Miami, Kia Dealerships in Miami, Kia Soul in Miami, Miami Kia Dealer, South Miami Kia on Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 at 8:32 PM
Last week we talked about how strong Kia Corp continues to grow after the pandemic shook things up in 2020 and the semiconductor chip shortage is hurting just about everyone. Even so, Kia Corp closed out the first half of 2021, the second quarter ending in June 2021, with the highest ever record for first-half yearly sales – 378,511 units sold. Some might think it’s because it’s the first half of the year, people want to get out there and start driving again, maybe treat themselves to a new car or keep a new resolution to travel more. Well, the sales for July just came in, and Kia Corp continues to impress with the automaker’s highest July sales in company history.
“Kia continues to build on the momentum from our record breaking first-half by setting yet another recor…Kia sold more than 74-percent of our available inventory in July as compared to 34-percent during the same period last year, a solid reflection of the strong consumer interest in the brand.” – Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America and Kia America
That’s crazy. Sure, just about any automaker is going to sell more than they did last year, but even with the aftermath, Kia sold 74-percent of all available units produced. That’s not bad at all. The new record for Kia Corp for July sales is 70,099 units. The Carnival MPV was recently introduced and has seen a steady rise in sales. Kia posted the fourth consecutive month-over-month increase for the Carnival, marking the model’s highest monthly sales performance, with nearly over 3500 units sold in July, a total of 15,641 units sold to-date for 2021. The major breadwinners for July though are the Kia Forte, Kia Sportage, and Kia K5/Optima, followed by the Kia Telluride before falling under 8,000 units sold. In total, July sales were up by 34-percent year-over-year, or when comparing 2021 sales with 2020 sales.
These sales in July only help compliment some of Kia Corp’s success in July alone. Recognized with prestigious industry awards and accolades, the 2022 Stinger sports sedan was awarded the Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) award by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). Most recently, the Kia K5 was named the most satisfying premium midsize car, and the Telluride rated as the most satisfying Large Crossover SUV during the 2021 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards by AutoPacific. Vehicle satisfaction is decided by real owners who take a survey designed to rate vehicles on 36 individual model attributes ranging from driving performance and features usability to seating comfort and interior design. More than 89,000 new car and light truck owners answered the survey this year. If you need a strong opinion, there it is.
Remember, the Kia Sportage is all-new for the new generation in 2021; the Kia Telluride is the automaker’s largest SUV to date (and there are rumors about an ell-electric variant); and the Kia K5 is the all-new generation of the Kia Optima, bringing its sports car style and performance to the forefront of the model. Kia even released a new GT-Line AWD Premium Package for the K5 to really show off its performance capabilities. The newest of them all is the Kia Carnival MPV, the most luxurious vehicle by Kia Corp thus far.Want to check out these new vehicles by Kia Corp? Find your new Kia vehicle at Miami Lakes Automall.
Photo Source/Copyright: Kia
Kia Corp Wins Two Awards at 2021 AutoPacific VSAs
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Kia Dealer in Miami, Kia Dealerships in Miami, Miami Kia Dealer, South Miami Kia on Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 at 7:54 PM
Kia Corp has been doing very well for the last few years, and with the new name and new logo, there is a lot more “new” coming, such as the recently released Kia Carnival MPV and all-electric Kia EV6. Sales have been skyrocketing, with a strong closing for the first half of 2021, and Kia sales in July 2021 already set the goal high for the rest of the year. July also brings another win to add to the belt before officially closing out – at the end of July 2021, AutoPacific wrapped up its 2021 AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSAs). The one and only Kia K5 sports car and the Kia Telluride both won awards for their respective categories during the 2021 VSAs.
Who is AutoPacific and what are the AutoPacific VSAs? A well-known and trusted name in the automotive industry, AutoPacific is a company that focuses on future-oriented automotive marketing research Many automakers consult with AutoPacific on new trends and furthering their success. Consumers in the market for a new car also look towards AutoPacific for consumer insight into the industry and reviews on the latest and newest vehicles in the market. The AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards have been going on for 25 years, and for 2021, vehicle satisfaction was rated across 36 individual vehicle attributes, covering traits such as driving performance, features, usability, seating comfort, and interior design.
Like J.D. Power automotive studies, AutoPacific sends out surveys to current new car owners. Based on the responses, the winners for each car category are chosen. That being said, the results of the AutoPacific annual New Vehicle Satisfaction Survey came from a total of 89,000 new car and light truck owner responses. It’s a nice sample size of the population, if statistics are anything to go by, and this year’s winners are spread across 12 manufacturers and 14 brands for a good variety of automobiles.\
“Our VSAs give consumers true, unbiased insight into which vehicles are providing their owners with the most satisfying experience,” – AutoPacific president George Peterson
The 2021 Kia K5 was named the most satisfying premium midsize car, and the Kia Telluride won the award for the most satisfying Large Crossover SUV. This win comes soon after another accolade for Kia Corp, with the 2022 Stinger sports sedan earning a Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) award from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety back in June. The Kia Telluride may have the title of the lineup’s largest SUV, but the sports cars are slowly stealing the spotlight with new special edition Kia Stinger, a new package for the Kia K5, and the Kia EV6 GT.
Sometime in late-May/early-June, Kia Corp revealed the 2022 Kia Stinger Scorpion Special Edition. Heading to dealerships, the special edition is an U.S. market exclusive, with only 250 units available per month in production. After that, the Kia Stinger Scorpion Special Edition will be no more. For consumers interested, the Scorpion comes with a blacked out fender garnish, side mirror caps, and darkened exhaust tips; body-colored rear spoiler; 19-inch black wheels; and carbon fiber-pattern trim throughout the cabin. Available in Snow White Pearl, Aurora Black, or Ceramic Silver, the Kia Stinger Scorpion is built off of the GT2 trim and can be equipped with rear-wheel drive (RWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD).
The new generation of the Kia Optima became the Kia K5, and after a number of death-defying stunts in this Kia sports car by professionals, Kia Corp unveiled a new package to add a little more comfort to the K5. It’s the GT-Line AWD Premium Package, complete with a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, LED projection headlights, Highway Driving Assist, and Navigation Based Smart Cruise Control-Curve. The GT2 alone is already pretty jacked with an assortment of new features for 2022, including a Surround View Monitor, additional wireless chargers, Driver Attention Warning, Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, and Lane Following Assist.Want to find your award-winning Kia? Find a new Kia automobile at Miami Lakes Automall.
Photo Source/Copyright: Kia
The Great Features of the 2021 Kia Seltos
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Miami Kia Dealers, South Miami Kia on Friday, July 30th, 2021 at 9:12 PM
The Kia Seltos compact SUV started overseas, but it soon made its way stateside, and a lot of consumers are showing interest. It’s easy to see why the Kia Seltos offers a lot of great features and options. Starting from a great price of $21,990 (plus destination fee), it’s a great budget car, and with just five trims, Kia Corp makes sure every trim is as good as the last. Take a look at some of these great features.
Design
Available five trims – LX, S, EX, S Turbo, and SX Turbo – the base LX trim comes with the modern standards of technology and performance, starting with an 8-inch touchscreen, an MP3/AM/FM radio with Bluetooth calling, voice recognition, Google Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, Siri Eye Free, a rear-camera display, and steering-wheel-mounted audio, cruise, and phone controls, and a six-speaker system. This level of entertainment quickly goes up and ends with UVO Link on a 10.25-inch touchscreen with remote connectivity, voice-command navigation, SiriusXM, and a Bose premium audio system on the SX Turbo trim.
Read the rest of this entry »Kia Corp Sales Keep Rising in 2021
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Miami Kia Dealer, South Miami Kia on Thursday, July 29th, 2021 at 11:55 PM
Kia Corp has been steadily climbing the ranks ever since it released the 2018 Kia Stinger Sports car and changed the design of its future lineup for the better. Receiving a mid-cycle refresh for the 2021 Kia Stinger, plus a new limited edition, the Kia Stinger Scorpion, the hot vehicle isn’t the only model doing well. With a diverse and rich lineup, Kia Corp is looking at a much brighter year in 2021, reporting better than ever sales records nearly every month. Now that we’re more than a little halfway into 2021, the automaker reported its highest ever first-half yearly sales of 378,511 units sold.
“Kia closed the first-half of the year with incredibly strong sales, and this unprecedented momentum will continue as we further implement our growth strategy to gain market share even in light of industry-wide supplier issues and delayed production…Kia is taking more and more market share in the United States. We are increasing sales of fuel-efficient sedans and our SUV sales are growing based on the strength of our light trucks, including the innovative and award-winning Sorento and the all-new Carnival MPV.” – Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America and Kia America
Read the rest of this entry »Kia and Hyundai Hit 200,000 EV Sales Milestone in Europe
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Miami Kia Dealers, South Miami Kia on Thursday, July 22nd, 2021 at 7:24 PM
Kia Corp has gone through a number of changes over the last few years – making the swept-back roof a cornerstone of vehicle design, a new Kia logo, and changing from Kia Motors to Kia Corp – the automaker shows no signs of slowing down as it continues to work towards its next goal of an all-electric vehicle lineup. It’s all a part of the Kia Plan S Strategy to dominate the electric vehicle (EV) market by 2025. As popularity for Kia and EVs grow, parent company Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp will hit new milestones. 2021 already marks one milestone, with a sale of over 200,000 EV units to date.
Hyundai and Kia have been selling electric vehicles since 2014, and the two have rarely ever experienced a slow down or lack of interest. The two automakers topped 10,000 units in 2017 when combining their sales in Europe alone, and in 2021 have already gone far past 100,000 units. Since the release of EVs from Hyundai and Kia, both under Hyundai Motor Group, a combined 227,919 EVs have been sold in the European auto market. 96,200 units come from Kia Corp. Although we still have several months to go in 2021, Hyundai and Kia have sold 43,865 EVs as of May – that’s a 99.5-percent increase from 2020.
Read the rest of this entry »Kia EV6 Gets a Small Boost in Driving Range Before Release
By Jordan Rodriguez | Posted in Miami Kia Dealer, South Miami Kia on Thursday, July 22nd, 2021 at 7:11 PM
The Kia EV6 is the first all-electric vehicle to be released by Kia Corp. Here we all thought it was going to be the Kia Futuron, and although the two share some similarities the EV6 is definitely in its own class. Back in 2019, Kia Corp stated that it would be releasing two new all-electric vehicles to start its all-electric lineup. These vehicles are said to have no predecessor, so the newly redesigned Kia Niro EV and the upcoming Kia Seltos EV – as cool as that is – doesn’t count. The first two vehicles are the EV6 and what seems to be an all-electric SUV, currently dubbed EV8 by the internet, and said to be as large as the Kia Telluride, the largest SUV in the Kia lineup. We don’t have much information on that as of yet, but we do know a lot about the Kia EV6, and with the 2022 model year already starting for some automakers, we could see this new electric vehicle (EV) on the road soon.
Upgrades in Power
Good news is still good news, no matter how small it may be. With that being said, we have some updates about the EV6 powertrain. Built on an all-new E-GMP platform, the EV6 is unlike any other EV before it, from either Hyundai Motor (parent company) or Kia Corp. Equipped with an energy-dense Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (80/10/10) battery pack, the powertrain comes in one of two sizes – 58.0 kWh and 77.4 kWh. Wanting to prove performance and electric vehicles can share the same set of wheels, the EV6 also comes with a GT-line.
Consumers can get the EV6 with rear-wheel drive (RWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), but the GT model comes with AWD standard and the 77.4 kWh battery pack, able to produce 576 horsepower with a 160kW front motor and a 270kW rear motor. Previously, the EV6 had reported a total driving range of 317 miles (give or take with regenerative braking) with the 58.0 kWh battery pack, and about 314 miles with the 77.4 kWh. The latest data from Kia now reports a total of 328 miles with the 77.4 kWh, but only if the model is engineered with RWD. This means the GT trim won’t benefit from this slight boost in driving range, but we don’t expect anyone buying the Kia EV6 GT is using it “just for groceries”.
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