MONTREAL, Jan. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At a presentation today in Montreal, the Kia Forte has been named Best Small Car in Canada for 2019 and the Kia Stinger has been named Best Large Car in Canada for 2019, winning their respective categories as part of the judging for AJAC's Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year and qualifying them both for the overall awards to be named in February.
Bringing home both mainstream car awards is a huge accomplishment for the brand and a testament to the award-winning design and quality investments that Kia has, and continues to put into its entire lineup of vehicles. For Canadians that have not yet considered a Kia, the awards are yet another reason to look at the brand with the ‘Power to Surprise.’ Both vehicles will be on display at this year’s Canadian auto shows and are currently available in dealerships across the country.
“We’re grateful to all of AJAC’s voting journalists for recognizing the Forte and Stinger as the best cars in their categories,” said Michael Kopke, Director of Marketing, Kia Canada. “Kia is focused on bringing safe, high-quality vehicles that look great and fit the lives of Canadians so it is a wonderful honour to see that so that many of Canada’s top automotive experts believe that our cars are hitting the target above some great competition in the market.”
Winning their respective categories also means that both the Kia Forte and Kia Stinger are two of five contenders for the AJAC Canadian Car of the Year award that will be presented at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on February 14.
"It's a great achievement for a vehicle to win one of AJAC's coveted Canadian Car of the Year awards, but it's exceptional for the same automaker to make two award-winning vehicles in the same year,” said Mark Richardson, President, Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. “Congratulations to Kia for the well-deserved success of the Stinger and Forte."
More information on the Kia Forte, Kia Stinger and the entire Kia lineup can be found at Kia.ca.
About the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (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 and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards (CCOTY and CUVOTY), Innovation Awards, and EcoRun.
About Kia Canada Inc.
Kia Canada Inc. (KCI), established in 1999 and celebrating 20 years in Canada, is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) based in Seoul, South Korea. Kia’s full line of award-winning vehicles offers world-class quality and customer satisfaction through a network of 193 dealers nationwide. The company employs 170 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters, various locations across Canada and at its regional office in Montreal, Quebec. Kia’s brand slogan "The Power to Surprise" represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation. From compact to crossover to industry leading EV’s, every Kia delivers an extraordinary combination of precision engineering, outstanding performance, innovative features, and advanced safety systems. Having sold close to one million vehicles, popular Canadian models include Soul, Forte, Sportage, Sorento and Stinger. To learn more about the Kia advantage, visit kia.ca or Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
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
Frederic Tremblay (Quebec Inquiries)
Directeur relations publiques et communications – Région de l’est
Kia Canada Inc.
T: 514-955-0505 x 2209
E: ftremblay@kia.ca
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e24f937f-e628-49a4-9bd8-4c68b9bb4a20