New Photos of the 2012 Kia Cee'd Hatchback

We got our first peek at the next generation of the European market Kia Cee'd earlier this week when Kia released a single picture of the five-door hatchback, but today, the Korean automaker dropped a few more photos revealing the car's profile and rear end.

Kia's upcoming entry in the VW Golf segment features a more mature and upmarket styling with the large lights on either end of the car taking center stage. The Cee'd also gets Kia's new signature grille encompassed in a chrome surround.

We'll have to wait a bit for the interior shots, but according to the South Korean automaker, the new Cee'd will get a "driver oriented dashboard and refined interior, with a strong focus on quality of materials".

The five-door hatchback will make its first public outing at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March before it goes on sale across Europe in the beginning of the summer.

The Cee'd will be followed up by a replacement to the three-door Pro_Cee'd and later on, the Cee'd Station Wagon.

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Kia Insiders Say GT RWD Sedan Could be Joined by Coupe and Sport Wagon

Kia's ascent from an inexpensive maker of bland products to a company that aspires to compete with the heavy weights in the mainstream segments continues with the South Korean firm now planning to introduce its first-ever rear-wheel drive model based on the GT concept we saw at the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September.

But the sedan model, which is expected to make its appearance in production form as early as 2013, may not be alone if we are to believe a report from Edmunds' Insideline.

Citing company insiders, the report says that Kia is also considering adding an even sportier two-door coupe version as well as a more practical station wagon model to the range of the production GT.

According to the unnamed insiders, Kia sees the GT range as being a "more affordable alternative" to the Audi A5 and A7 models.

The Frankfurt Show GT concept sported a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 engine delivering 390HP and 534 Nm (393.8 lb-ft) of torque, matched to an 8-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels.

The production version of the GT sedan, along with the station wagon and coupe models if they receive the green light (remember, this remains a rumor without official confirmation), will share a common platform and other hardware with a Hyundai model, possibly the Genesis sedan.

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Kia Presents Korea's First Production Electric Model

The new Ray EV is not only Kia's first attempt to enter the electric car market but it is also the first production EV to be introduced by a Korean automaker.

The battery-powered model is based on the recently launched Ray city car, which is only offered in Kia's home market. It shares the regular model’s major dimensions and, in a global first for an EV manufacturer, is built on the same production line as the conventional combustion-engine models.

In place of the Ray's 1.0-liter unit, the EV model gains a 50kW electric motor that develops 167 Nm of constant torque (an increase of 77 percent over the gas unit) and a high-capacity 16.4 kWh lithium ion polymer battery pack with a 10-year life cycle that's placed under the rear seat and cabin floor.

Kia says that even though the Ray EV weighs 187 kg (412 pounds) more than the gasoline model, it offers a "brisker" 0-100km/h (62mph) acceleration time of 15.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 130km/h (81mph).

The battery pack can be fully recharged in six hours using a standard 220V household supply and just 25 minutes in fast-charge mode.

Other highlights include the Ray EV’s automatic transmission that offers the driver a choice of two modes while in ‘D’ drive: the ‘E’ (or ‘eco’) mode, which optimizes the delivery of the motor’s torque to increase the driving range, and ‘B’ (or ‘brake’) mode, which can be chosen when driving downhill roads to maximize braking power.

The Ray EV gets a unique instrument cluster that displays electric motor operation, battery status and distance to recharge while Kia also fitted the car with a warning system called VESS (Virtual Engine Sound System) that delivers a mixture of recorded gasoline engine noises to warn pedestrians.

Kia says that it is planning to manufacture 2,500 units of the Ray EV in 2012, all of which will be for government use in Korea - at least for the time being.

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