Kia Motors Corporation has been presented with two significant international certificates which confirm that the design and manufacturing processes behind the successful Kia Ceed are indeed 'environment-friendly'.
The globally-recognised, German-based Tüv Nord presented Kia with a DFE (Design for Environment) and a LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) environment certificate at a special ceremony in Seoul after rigorous inspection of the company's design and manufacturing operations at Zilina in Slovakia. The Kia Ceed, which was designed for and made in Europe at Zilina, is the first Korean brand car to receive such recognition.
"The awarding of two international environment certificates for the Kia Ceed and its excellent five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash testing are first-time achievements for a Korean automotive company of which we can all be proud," Hyoung-Keun Lee, senior executive vice-president and COO, International Business Division of Kia Motors Corporation, said.
"Our Zilina facility was environmentally certified in 2007 and later this year we will start manufacturing Ceeds with fuel-stretching and CO2 reducing technologies from our experimental eco-Ceed line-up, further underlining Kia's strong and continuing drive to minimise its impact on the environment."
DFE (ISO 14062) evaluates a car's environment-friendliness during its design and development, plus the ease with which the car can be disassembled and its level of recyclability. DFE also requires that the assembly plant for the car reaches ISO 14001.
LCA (ISO 14040) examines both the car's overall manufacturing process and its life-time environmental impact, including choice of materials - the Ceed features lightweight all-aluminium engines (weighing 15 kg less) and Kenaf recycled materials from its door trim panels - and measures to reduce fuel consumption and engine exhaust emissions.
Last year, Kia's all-new car and engine manufacturing plant in Zilina was certified as an 'environment-friendly' facility when Kia Motors Slovakia (KMS), which operates the plant, was officially presented with an ISO 14001 international certificate of environmental management. Many of the production and waste-management technologies in operation at Zilina are among the very best available in the world, with a minimised impact on the environment.
Tüv Nord and its partner Tüv companies employ a staff of more than 8,000 engineers who carry out regulatory and environmental inspections and audits across a variety of industries. Tüv Nord environmental certificates are not easily earned.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class (2005) and C-Class (2006) achieved both DFE and LCA recognition, while Volkswagen's Passat and Golf (2007) earned an LCA evaluation.