Kia Motors has revealed that the corporation’s all-new, mid-size, SUV will bear the name Kia ‘Borrego’ when it makes its world premiere at the Detroit Motor Show in early January 2008.

Code-named HM during development, the new Kia Borrego is the first mid-size SUV from Kia and features a body-on-frame construction incorporating the latest NVH engineering philosophy for enhanced refinement. With room for up-to-seven occupants, the newest addition to the Kia model line-up gives the brand a truly comprehensive global product range that delivers value, safety and ownership peace of mind to consumers.

The latest example of Kia’s commitment to designing products to suit specific markets, the Borrego is primarily intended to meet the needs of consumers in the USA. Borrego will be available with either a V6 engine or the company’s first V8 offering (in some markets), which will also boast Kia’s largest towing capacity to date. The Borrego, named after the bighorn sheep native to California’s largest desert state park, will be manufactured in Korea and begin sales there in early 2008 with overseas sales commencing in late spring or early summer.

The Kia Borrego styling is derived from the Mesa concept vehicle first shown by Kia at the Detroit Motor Show in 2005 and is larger than Kia’s popular Sorento model. The Borrego’s third-row seating is designed to comfortably accommodate two adults.

Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) -- one of the fastest growing automakers in the world -- was founded in 1944 and is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world’s premier automotive brands. Kia’s 12 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries produce more than 1.3 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 165 countries. Kia today has over 33,000 employees and annual revenues of almost $19 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. From 2007 to 2014, Kia will be an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup -- as well as a EUROTOP partner of UEFA. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan -- “The Power to Surprise” -- represents the company’s global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.