Set for Geneva debut, the Kia Picanto.
Fuel prices nudging $3 a gallon, new fuel economy standards that could push 62 mpg. The headlines give plenty of reasons to wonder whether Kia has the U.S. market in mind as it releases the first sketches of its new Picanto city car.
So far, however, it appears the American market isn’t on the list of places where you’ll be able to buy what looks like a surprisingly slick addition to the Korean maker’s design-driven product revolution. But, then again, Chevrolet had no plans to bring the new Spark to the States until it announced a sudden about-face.
Set for launch in the British market during the second quarter of 2011, the Kia Picanto will make its formal debut at the Geneva Motor Show, late this winter.
What appears to be a three-door body uses a sharply-creased wedge design that bears the distinctive look and feel of Peter Schreyer. The German stylist jumped to Kia, several years ago, to lead its distinctive design push. Americans will get a good sense of what Schreyer’s touch is yielding with the upcoming launch of the 2011 Kia Optima.
(Kia set for a record ad campaign to launch the 2011 Optima. Click Here for more.)
Picanto was last updated in 2007, but the current model hasn’t done especially well in the increasingly crowded city car market. So, the update could be critical for Kia.
With new European fuel economy standards likely to target a goal of more than 100 mpg beyond 2020, city cars are expected to become one of the dominant segments in the European market. And even some of the industry’s most exclusive players are weighing in.
Aston Martin is getting ready to launch the new Cygnus, a microcar it developed in cooperation with Toyota, using the same underlying platform as the Japanese maker’s iQ city car.