TORONTO, April 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kia Canada is proud to accept the 2018 Canadian Green Utility Vehicle of the Year for the 2018 Kia Niro, presented by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) at the Vancouver International Auto Show last week.
“We’d like to thank the members of AJAC for their diligent testing and are extremely proud to accept this award and to be recognized by so many of the country’s top automotive journalists,” said Ted Lancaster, Vice President and COO, Kia Canada Inc. “This award helps to demonstrate that Kia is a brand focused on both providing fun and exciting vehicles that meet the needs of Canadian drivers, and delivering innovative technologies to help the environment and future generations.”
Roomy, versatile, and fuel-efficient, the 2018 Kia Niro joined the lineup last year as a capable crossover-hybrid and already has a number of awards to its name. This fall, Kia will introduce a new plug-in version of the vehicle that will add even more fuel efficiency while maintaining the same great style and functionality. Over the winter, a pure electric EV version of the Niro will also come to Canada with extended range even more advanced technology.
For more information on the Niro and the entire Kia lineup, please contact mjames@kia.ca.
About AJAC:
The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) is an association of professional journalists, writers, photographers, and corporate members whose focus is the automobile and the Canadian automotive industry. Collectively, our primary objectives are to promote, encourage, support, and facilitate professionalism in Canadian automotive journalism and to ensure factual and ethical reporting about the automobile and automotive issues to Canadian consumers. This is achieved through the work of our members and AJAC's annual vehicle testing and evaluation events, the Canadian Car of the Year Awards (CCOTY), Canadian Green Car of the Year Awards, Innovation Awards, and EcoRun. For further information: For more information regarding the Canadian Green Car of the Year Awards program, please contact Justin Pritchard (pritch@justinpritchard.ca), David Taylor (davidtaylor@rogers.com) or Chantal Arlitt, AJAC Events Manager, chantal@ajac.ca.
About the Canadian Green Car of the Year (CGCOTY):
Canadian Green Car and Green Utility Vehicle of the Year winners have been tested extensively by AJAC's Canadian auto experts from coast to coast. These AJAC journalism professionals score all eligible entries on parameters including recharge time, driving range, vehicle dynamics, market significance, and overall value. Each of the scores is then weighted for relevance to the vehicle and category in question. The winning score also represents how the vehicle stacks up to its market segment competition, whether green or otherwise. All entries were tested throughout 2017, including back-to-back testing on roads across the country and in varying weather conditions. The CGCOTY and CGUVOTY entries are first scored under AJAC's standard Canadian Car of the Year program protocol, which considers subjective and objective data for scoring, and then further evaluated based on a specific set of "green" criteria in addition to their other scores.
About Kia Canada Inc.
Kia Canada Inc. (www.kia.ca – www.facebook.com/kiacanada), a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) which was founded in 1999 and sells and services high quality, class leading vehicles like the Soul, Forte, Optima and Sorento through a network of 191 dealers nationwide. Kia Canada Inc. employs 165 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters and three regional offices across Canada, including a state-of-the-art facility in Montreal. Kia’s brand slogan "The Power to Surprise" represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting & inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.
For more information about Kia Canada and our products, please visit our Media Centre at KiaMedia.ca or contact:
Mark James
Corporate Communications Manager
Kia Canada Inc.
T: 905-755-6251; E: mjames@kia.ca
John Adzija
National Manager, Corporate Communications & Corporate Partnerships
Kia Canada Inc.
T: 905-755-6266; E: jadzija@kia.ca
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/e6d45f11-8fb8-4bd8-8b1c-5a735be96df0