Kia still said to be considering diesels in US
Fri, Jul 18 2014
Kia Motors America vice president Orth Hedrick tells JustAuto that the automaker may start selling diesels in the States during the next few years. Kia is getting ready to debut its Soul EV battery-electric in the US later this year, and with diesel powertrains gradually overcoming their perceptions of being slow and loud, the company may find a receptive audience in the US for these powerplants.
The problem has always been the inconsistent emissions standards between Europe and the US, but that may be resolved by 2018, says Hedrick. Kia's obviously encouraged by rising diesel sales from German automakers such as Volkswagen and Audi, as well as the fact that it just completed a record-breaking six-month sales period for the US. Kia spokesman Scott McKee, in an email to AutoblogGreen, would only say that "identifying new opportunities for growth is part of our long-term strategy" but reiterated that no announcements have been made.
Of course, there was a similar buzz during the spring of 2012, when reports surfaced that Kia would start making a diesel-powered Optima, which it provides to European customers.
By Danny King
See also: Kia recalls over 50k new Soul compacts over steering issue, Kia Sorento spotted high-altitude testing after 'Ring run, Audi, Jag, Kia and Tesla top Strategic Vision 2014 Total Quality Index.