The Kia Soul Wins Red Dot Award

Kia's stylish and fun urban cross-over car, the Soul, has become the first Korean car ever to receive recognition from the world renowned 'red dot' awards at the 2009 product design competition held in Germany.

With more than 3,230 entries from 49 countries in 17 different categories, the newly-launched Kia Soul was selected from the 'Automobile Transport and Caravan' section to receive an honourable mention.

Welcoming the announcement from the 'red dot' awards, Kia's Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer commented, "Our design teams in Korea, California and Europe can be very proud that Kia Soul has achieved this prestigious recognition. Kia's design strategy is focusing on distinctive product solutions and the development of a unique Kia family look. This recognition is a clear reward for Kia's determination to establish design as one of the key components of its corporate DNA."

The Kia Soul's architecture delivers emotional appeal as well as functionality. The Soul embodies Kia's image shift towards a design-driven company with products that consumers will aspire to own.

"The Kia Soul defies conventions and offers buyers a new freedom in style, a new shape and new power of expression," explained Paul Philpott, Managing Director of Kia Motors (UK) Ltd.

"It's a brand new urban car that encourages consumers to rethink everything they know about Kia. Recognition from this world famous design competition only serves to underline the change in our brand and the potential of this car," he added.

The 'red dot' design award judging panel for 2009 comprised 29 independent working designers and academics from all fields of creative activity. The international make up of the judging panel is as varied as the wide range of entries with judges from countries as far afield as Mexico, Sweden, Chile, Israel, Finland and South Korea.

Regarded as the world's largest annual design competition, the 'red dot' design award has its roots back in 1955 and has been an international design competition since 1991. The driving force behind the red dot awards is Professor Dr. Peter Zec and the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. The DZNW museum, which is housed in the former Zeche Zollverein colliery redesigned by British architect Lord Norman Foster in the late 1990s, is known locally as the 'cathedral of industrial culture' and attracts more than 140,000 visitors each year.

The 2009 'red dot' design award presentation will take place in Essen's Aalto-Theater on 29th June 2009, with the award winning products going on display at the DZNW museum from 30th June 2009 for one month.