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Kia Motors and Johnson Controls Cooperate on Interior for the New Kia cee'd Review

February 2007
Filed under: KIA Car News | KIA Headlines

Kia cee'd Korean-Brand Model with a European Look



Furthermore, with its own range of products, Johnson Controls has contributed to the entire interior by creating an impression of harmony which fulfills in detail the requirements of the European consumers. Photo: KIA MOTORS EUROPE GmbH

BURSCHEID, Germany, February 22/PRNewswire/ -- What was particularly important for Kia in creating its new model? To meet the needs of European consumers. With the new cee'd, Kia is, for the first time, launching a car that is designed, produced and sold exclusively in Europe. The interior was developed by Kia in collaboration with Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI), one of the world's leading suppliers of auto-motive interior systems, electronics and batteries. The scope of products available from the interior systems supplier includes not only seating, but also the door panels, the headliner and the sun visors as well as the floor console. The highlight is the active head restraint, which reduces the risk of whiplash injuries.

As one of the global suppliers for the new Kia Motors plant in Zilina, Slovakia, Johnson Controls is contributing towards the new Kia cee'd with crucial interior products. To ensure that the interior fulfills European requirements in terms of safety, design, craftsmanship, engineers and designers at Kia have been working closely with experts from Johnson Controls to develop this product. "The experience that we have already gathered when creating an interior for a European medium-sized segment vehicle has flowed into the cee'd," said Dave Cordle, the Platform Director responsible for the project at Johnson Controls. Of particular importance for Kia is the safety of the driver and passengers. This is why the automobile manufacturer decided to include body-driven, active head restraints.
Active head restraints ensure even greater protection The active head restraints in the front seats reduce the risk of whiplash injuries and are mechanically activated by the occupant's pelvis during a rear impact on their vehicle. Integrated into the lower part of the backrest, this mechanism is of particular benefit as this is the point at which the body has maximum contact. Consequently, even small or slightly-built persons can activate the head restraint - in contrast to conventional systems where this is not always possible as the actuators are usually found in the upper backrest.

As far as quality is concerned, drivers and passengers are getting an extremely good deal with the new model. In the upper area of the door panels, for example, Johnson Controls is using In-Mold graining technology with very high precision to achieve a 'Twill' texture look reminiscent of jeans material. This covering process permits narrow radii and minimal grain distortion. To keep every-thing lightweight, natural fibers are used which also improve safety performance in a side impact crash. Kia ordered a wide variety of headliners and floor consoles from Johnson Controls.

Furthermore, with its own range of products, the company has contributed to the entire interior by creating an impression of harmony which fulfills in detail the requirements of the European consumers. "To ensure that we always offer our customers the optimum solutions, our multinational teams in Korea, Germany and Slovakia maintain close communications even after the development phase has been completed," commented Dave Cordle.

Source: Johnson Controls GmbH

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