Kia greens up to go solar!

Kia Motors South Africa (KMSA) is making local “green” history! As part of a plan to become an environmentally-conscious brand, the vehicle manufacturer will be opening its first – and South Africa’s first – eco-friendly, solar powered, dealership in Weltevreden Park on 19 February 2013.

Construction on KMSA’s soon-to-be flagship dealership began in January 2012 and considering the building is a massive 3 602 m² in size, it will be quite an achievement to see the launch take place so soon.  

The two major areas that contribute to the dealership’s eco-friendly philosophy are power saving in the form of renewable energy and water recycling.

The dealership will be powered by 288 roof-mounted solar panels, creating a daily maximum of 69 kW of power – enough to power an average of 22 households per day.

David Sieff, national marketing manager for KMSA, comments: “The Kia brand has shifted to the next level. Ventures such as this will give us the platform to become industry leaders.”

On a global level, the move to eco-friendly products is well underway with Kia product offerings covering electric, hybrid electric and fuel cell derivatives on certain models. As the demand for eco dynamic vehicles increases, the models will be made available to markets outside of North America and Europe.

David explains: “Although these vehicles are not currently available to the South African market, we have decided to focus our efforts on making the operational side of KMSA as eco-friendly as possible.”

He adds: “Kia’s Weltevreden Park dealership is the blueprint for future eco-friendly facilities and we are very excited about the opening. We want Kia consumers to experience the brand’s power to surprise.”