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Kia America shuffles executives

Kia announced a sudden and massive shuffle of its most senior executives in North America, including the resignation of its CEO and new roles for some of his top lieutenants. The biggest change is the departure of Byung Mo Ahn, who had until now served as both CEO of Kia Motors America and head of the company's manufacturing operations in Georgia, as well as a group vice chairman. Ahn is stepping down from all three positions with immediate effect, but will stay on in an advisory capacity. In his place, Jang Won Sohn moves from his previous post as a senior vice president at the home office to take over Kia Motors America. The task of running Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia will fall to Hyun Jong Shin, currently the plant's executive vice president and chief operating officer. Along with those replacements, Kia promoted Michael Sprague (pictured) to the newly created position of COO and executive vice president for Kia Motors America – a step up from his current title as EVP of sales and marketing. He reports directly to Sohn and takes over responsibility for product planning as well as sales, marketing and service. KIA MOTORS AMERICA STATEMENT REGARDING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES Effective immediately, the Group Vice Chairman and CEO of Kia Motors America (KMA) and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), Byung Mo Ahn, has left these positions and will become a company advisor. Jang Won Sohn, formerly a Senior Vice President at KMC, assumes the position of President and CEO of KMA, and Hyun Jong Shin, formerly KMMG's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, assumes the position of President and CEO of KMMG. Michael Sprague, formerly KMA's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer and EVP of KMA, reporting directly to Mr. Sohn, and will serve as the central point of contact for all sales, marketing, service and product planning functions.

Driverless cars from Kia hit the road in Nevada

Drivers in Nevada might soon spot a Kia Soul EV that pilots itself because the South Korean brand is the latest automaker to get authorization from the state to test autonomous vehicles on public roads. Kia's development of driverless tech is part of the company's $2 billion investment with Hyundai through 2018 to help bring some of these systems to production models. Rather than handing complete control to the computers immediately, Kia first plans to introduce partially driverless features on models by 2020. Its engineers intend to test technology like Traffic Jam Assist, Highway Autonomous Driving, Urban Autonomous Driving, an Emergency Stop System, and Autonomous Valet Parking on Nevada's roads. Kia doesn't foresee a fully piloted model on sale until 2030 and believes innovations in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications are necessary to make that possible. Nevada has been a vital site for autonomous technology development since the state passed a law to allow testing on public roads. Google was among the earliest to get a permit, and Audi also quickly jumped on board. Freightliner was first to expand the authorization to commercial vehicles with its license for the Inspiration semi truck earlier this year. We're sure more will follow in short order. Related Video: Kia Motors granted Nevada autonomous driving license - US state of Nevada grants Korean manufacturer permission to test autonomous driving technologies on public roads - Soul EV's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems tested in Beatty, Nevada - US$2 billion investment by 2018 to develop autonomous vehicle technology - Kia to introduce partially-autonomous driving technologies by 2020, with arrival of fully-autonomous vehicles targeted for 2030 (SEOUL) December 14, 2015 – Kia Motors has been granted a licence by the US state of Nevada to carry out testing of its autonomous driving technologies on public roads for the first time. Kia – together with sister company Hyundai – hopes to experiment with partially- and fully- autonomous driving technologies in real-world conditions, an important part of its roadmap for autonomous driving. Kia plans to introduce a range of partially-autonomous driving technologies to its model line- up including eco-friendly vehicles by 2020, and is aiming to bring its first fully-autonomous car to market by 2030.

Kia Soul getting turbo power, possible AWD

It's been a long time coming, but it appears we might finally see a turbocharged Kia Soul next year. Kia officials reportedly confirmed the hotter Soul to Motor Trend recently, and also stated that the company is (still) investigating the use of all-wheel drive for the next generation of its boxy hatchback.
The turbo Soul will arrive with the same 1.6-liter four-cylinder found in the Forte, rated at 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. According to Motor Trend, Kia wanted to launch the hotter Soul this year, but didn't have the retuned steering or suspension calibration, as well as the larger brakes, ready in time. Transmission pairings weren't discussed, but Kia does mate both its six-speed manual and automatic units to the 1.6T.
As for all-wheel drive, this isn't the first time we've heard reports on this front, and it seems like a pretty natural fit, to us. Adding AWD would allow the Soul to better compete with vehicles like the Nissan Juke and the upcoming Chevy Trax and Jeep Renegade. But as of right now, a four-wheels-driven Soul hasn't been given an official go-ahead.