Kia confirms plans to grow the Ceed family to five with new image of the XCeed SUV
Kia has teased its upcoming crossover version the Ceed in a new design sketch. Likely to be called the XCeed, it will compete against the likes of the Ford Focus Active, Volkswagen T-Roc and MINI Countryman, and will sit between the Stonic and the Sportage in the firm’s SUV line-up.
The sketch, which shows the new model from a rear three-quarters angle, gives subtle hints at how the new model will differ from the existing Ceed hatchback. The tail lights appear to flow from the rear into the side of the car, sitting just above the wheel arches that are more flared than on the conventional Ceed. The side window line, which kinks upwards towards the rear, is also a change from the hatchback’s glass line.
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The teaser sketch follows on from earlier spy images of the XCeed, which show the compact SUV’s increased ride height relative to the rest of the Ceed family.
We expect the XCeed crossover to be officially revealed in the middle of 2019 before a public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It should be the final member of the Ceed family, following the release of the more practical Ceed Sports Wagon and a stylish ProCeed shooting brake.
As Auto Express exclusively revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, the XCeed, along with the Ceed Sportswagon, will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. This should join the range in 2020.
When quizzed about the idea of a Ceed SUV earlier this year at the reveal of the firm’s latest family hatchback, Artur Martins, Kia’s vice president of marketing, told Auto Express: “This is something we are putting on the table. There will be no three-door with this car so that gives us the chance to have another body type of the [Ceed] car”.
Martins identified the Ceed’s market (the C-segment) as an area for potential growth for Kia. He said: “We over perform in D-segment and SUVs – we have around 7 per cent market share. We have a chance to increase volume but we have to change the recipe, we have to come with a different proposition, something more relevant”.
Now read our review of the Kia Ceed hatchback. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
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