Kia has been rapidly expanding its lineup of electric vehicles (EVs), but it isn’t withdrawing combustion-powered options from key segments – even in markets like Europe where EV uptake has been strong.
The Kia XCeed, a small crossover SUV built and sold in Europe, had been rumoured to be getting the axe, with not only the electric EV3 small SUV encroaching on its territory but also the Seltos which will finally be offered in Western Europe with its new generation.
However, Kia has done what it did with the smaller Stonic, giving the XCeed a second facelift to squeeze some more life out of the vehicle.
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As with the Stonic, which is sold in Australia, the XCeed’s second facelift is much more substantial than the first, and ties the ageing small SUV in visually with newer Kias like the EV3 by incorporating elements of the brand’s Opposites United design language.
In addition to more vertically oriented headlights and C-shaped tail-lights connected by a light bar, there are also new wheel designs and exterior finishes.
Inside, there’s a redesigned dashboard and centre console, incorporating dual 12.3-inch displays – the outgoing XCeed features a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, with a choice of 4.2-inch or 12.3-inch instrument displays.
Kia says it has also improved the XCeed’s ride comfort, and added new convenience features such as Digital Key 2.0, which allows you to use a smartphone to unlock and start the vehicle.
The XCeed was first launched in 2019, launching shortly after the Ceed it was based on and subsequently receiving a facelift in 2022.
It lives on despite the small car it’s based on being axed in favour of the new K4, which is sold alongside the similarly sized electric EV4.
The facelifted XCeed will enter production later this month at Kia’s plant in Žilina, Slovakia, where it’ll be produced alongside the Kia Sportage, EV2 and EV4.
Kia says it’ll continue to offer petrol and mild-hybrid powertrains.
While it hasn’t detailed what the new XCeed lineup will look like just yet, the pre-update model is currently offered in Slovakia with an 85kW 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with either a six-speed manual transmission, or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission – the latter in conjunction with a 48V mild-hybrid system.
There’s also a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, offered in either 110kW or 132kW tunes.
The XCeed has been a predominantly Europe-focused model, though it was also offered in Israel. It was never sold in markets like Australia, Korea or the US, however, due to its exclusively European production – Kia Australia opted instead to focus on the Korean-sourced Cerato family, which was based on the same underpinnings.
“The start of production for the new XCeed marks an exciting step in Kia’s European operations, building on the continued success of a well-established and popular nameplate in the region,” said Kia Europe president and CEO Soohang Chang.
“Manufactured at our Slovakia-based facility, the new XCeed will benefit from modernised production lines that also support an expanding range of electrified models. Designed to strengthen our position in Europe’s highly competitive C-segment, it enhances our offering to customers while contributing to Kia’s broad and flexible powertrain mix, from petrol and mild hybrid to fully electric vehicles.”
Globally, Kia wants to launch nine new combustion-powered vehicles by 2030 and expand its hybrid lineup to 13 models.
It’s targeting 1.98 million annual sales of combustion-powered models in 2030, along with 1.15 million examples of what it calls ‘xHEV’ models, which includes hybrids, plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles, plus 1 million EVs.
In Europe, Kia plans for EVs to account for 66 percent of its total sales by 2030, which it says exceeds the projected market average by 23 percentage points.
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