the all-new Kia Optima K5. Launched in Korea in April 2010, it’s been slowly introduced in many countries but limited supply has prevented NazaKia Malaysia from launching the car earlier, so it has had to soldier on with the rather plain second generation for more than a year. Though it must have known it had a winner for the showrooms, the unexpectedly high demand in the US market caught Kia by surprise and it’s been sending most of the output from its Korean plant there. However, Kia’s factory in America will soon begin producing the model so output from the Korean plant can then be allocated to more countries.
“I can assure you that more cars will be sent to Malaysia next year since our US factory will take over production of the new Optima for the American market,” said Thomas Oh, Senior Executive Vice-President & COO of the International Business Division of Kia Motors are the launch this afternoon in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
The strong demand for the Optima in the US (and other countries where it has been launched) is not surprising; it is yet another confirmation of the excellence of Peter Schreyer’s design direction which has revitalized the Kia brand. Before Schreyer joined Kia in 2006 (he was with the VW Group working primarily on Audi products and was also involved in the New Beetle of 1997), Kia’s products were nondescript and dull. But setting a clear and distinctive design direction was one thing, Kia itself had also to rise above mediocrity in engineering and this too has been achieved in no small way.