Kia’s Pride wins IDEA design award

Kia Motors said Tuesday that it has achieved the “grand slam” of winning awards at the world’s top three design competitions, with its model Pride recently taking bronze at the 2012 IDEA Awards.

According to Kia, the Pride, whose export brand name is Rio, won bronze in the transportation design category of the IDEA Awards this year, which is run by the Industrial Design Society of America.

Officials said that the Korean carmaker has earned the honor of getting recognized at the world’s top three design competitions ― International Forum Design Award, Red Dot Award and IDEA Award. 

The company said its strategic emphasis on car design, which began since 2006, has been successfully appealing to the global industrial design scene in recent years.

Since Kia’s Soul became the first Korean car to receive Germany’s Red Dot Design Award in 2009, other brands have won the industry’s top honor over the past four years.

Kia also won recognition by another prestigious award, iF, in recent years, beginning with its European hatchback Venga in 2009.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)