Kia is priming an estate-bodied version of its new Volkswagen Golf rival, the K4 – a petrol-powered equivalent of the electric EV4.
The striking K4 has already launched in global markets such as the US as a liftback and a conventional hatchback, but it has yet to be confirmed for Europe or the UK.
However, prototypes have previously been spotted testing in Europe, a key market for mid-sized hatchbacks.
Although a spokesperson for Kia UK told Autocar that this does not mean the car is poised to go on sale in Europe, the emergence of an estate suggests Kia could be considering wider launch plans, given the continent accounts for the majority of estate sales globally. Meanwhile, the segment is all but extinct in the key markets for the K4 currently, such as the US.
It's possible that the K4 could arrive as a replacement for the Ceed Sportswagon estate and Proceed shooting brake, which are approaching the end of their lifespans. They launched seven years ago and are built in the brand's factory in Slovakia, which will soon pivot to production of the new EV4.
But the market for such cars remains fruiful, and it is unlikely Kia would so easily abandon the segment. The Ceed Sportswagon, Proceed, Ceed hatchback and Xceed crossover combined to take just under 15,000 sales in the UK last year, accounting for 13% of Kia’s total sales here.
The K4 estate is likely to be notably larger than the 4.61m-long Proceed, given that the K4 liftback stretches to 4.71m.
That would probably result in its repositioning as an alternative to the big-selling Skoda Octavia Estate, which measures 4.70m long.
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