Following an extended gestation, Kia’s baby Picanto is being prepared to join the Aussie family by early next year.
“Picanto has been confirmed for Australia,” Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Damien Meredith said. “It has taken a while to put all the ducks in a row but now it is full steam ahead for what we see as a very exciting new entrant to the market.”
Meredith said that with homologation well under way and specification and build negotiations completed the focus was now on getting Picanto to Australian consumers as early as possible.
“Realistically, it is likely that Picanto will be on sale in the first quarter of next year. It is not one of the larger segments of the Australian new car market but we definitely see an opportunity for a quality product like Picanto.”
Expectation is that Picanto will be launched as a single specification 5-door model with the 1.2-litre engine coupled to a four-speed automatic.
Indicative price is $14,990 which will allow Picanto to provide a starting-point introduction to the Kia family with logical steps to Rio, Cerato and Optima in the passenger car range.
As with all Kia vehicles, the Picanto will benefit from the industry-leading 7-year warranty with 7-year capped price servicing and 7-year roadside assist.
