Last year was a great one for Kia, who reached a significant milestone by achieving 10,000 annual sales in Ireland for the first time, which makes them the fifth best-selling car brand in Ireland right now.
Kia launched in South Korea in 1944 and the company were selling cars in Europe during the nineties with their first models making their Irish debut in 2001.
The following year Kia sold 200 cars in Ireland so naturally everybody at Kia’s Irish headquarters in Ballymount, Dublin is proud to reach that landmark sales figure.
Ronan Flood, MD of Kia Ireland said: “Reaching 10,000 annual vehicle sales is a testament to Kia’s strategic efforts and customer-focused approach. This achievement is testament to our fantastic dealer network who work tirelessly at a local level to enable the best possible customer satisfaction which ensures repeat custom to allow for such an achievement.”
Kia’s Sportage has been a great seller down through the years.
Mr Flood also added that the negativity surrounding electric cars that we had 12 months ago has now gone and more motorists are willing to drive fully electric cars. He was speaking at the launch of the new EV5 in Ireland.
A few weeks earlier, Kia launched their new EV4 to the Irish market and last week I had a test drive of the Fastback version of the EV4. The EV4 sits between the compact EV3 and the huge EV6 in the Kia range and if you see one on the street or supermarket car park it will certainly catch your eye.
My test car came in Aurora Black Pearl and it was gorgeous. Inside you get comfortable leather seats and it looked very impressive. One of the drive settings was Snow and thankfully I didn’t have use that one last week; best range results are always achieved in Eco mode.
I have driven several cars with a completely dark interior design. This time the black was complimented with some lovely cream touches on the dash, arm rest and at the top of all the seats. Kia say that most of the internal fittings are made from recyclable items. I really liked the touch of cream in the interior as I think it added a touch of class to the cabin.
Kia are catering for all tastes with the EV4 as they have introduced two versions, a Hatchback and a Fastback version. The Fastback is 300mm longer and access to the 490-litre boot is slightly more accessible. No Frunk is provided.
Kia call their cars Earth 2 and Earth 3 and prices start at €39,940 for the EV4 Earth 2 with the 58.3kWh standard range battery. The EV4 Fastback comes with an 81.4kWh long-range battery with a claimed range of approximately 625km, which is very impressive for those of us still suffering from a touch of range anxiety. Range anxiety is a bit like ‘Long Covid,’ it never goes away!
The EV4 is the first electric car made at Kia’s plant in Slovakia, especially for the European market, while the Fastback is made in South Korea for the world market. The seats are set low, which I think adds to the sporty look and feel of the car.
I have seen vertical lights at the back of cars, but this was the first time I have seen vertical LED lights replace the traditional headlamps at the front of the car. Yes, truly a Black Beauty.
Kia already have the EV9, EV6, EV3 and the PV5 van and in a few weeks, I will hopefully bring you a review of their new EV5.
