Kia 2005 Annual Report Download - page 124

Management for Sustainable Growth
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KIA MOTORS
R&D is a vital function for any firm wishing to becom e a m ajor player in the autom otive industry, as cars represent the pinnacle of innovation in the durable goods
sector. An autom obile is m ore than a m eans of transportation; it reflects the lifestyle of its driver, and needs to balance product quality with environment
friendliness. These days use of environm entally friendly autom otive fuel is a serious concern by all. And custom er satisfaction depends on other factors relating to
fuel efficiency, safety, convenience and engine perform ance.
Stated more strongly, technological advancem ents are now the driving force of sustainable grow th. Increasingly, both drivers and governm ents are dem anding
autom obiles don’t excessively pollute the environm ent. We at KIA Motors wish to be a progressive force in the auto industry. With Hyundai Motor, w e are the first
car maker to erect an environm ental technology research center. The findings of this technology center will be used throughout our operations, and we are taking
charge in four vital areas of research. These vital areas are: further developm ent of environm entally-friendly cars, exhaust gas reduction, increased usage of recycled
materials during production stages, and im provements in fuel consum ption.
Current Status of Major Research Centers
Namyang R&D Center
The Nam yang R&D Center is a com prehensive autom obile research center that unites our dom estic research capabilities under one organization. The Namyang
center em ploys over 7,000 personnel including designers & engineers; from 2006, w e’ll add another 1000 employees. The center consists of an extensive driving test
center as w ell as a top notch research design division. The high-tech teams at the Namyang R&D Center are focused on strengthening KIA’s technological process.
The center has particular interests advancing environm entally-friendly cars com pliant to EURO-Ⅳstandards, and w ith advancing fuel cell engines. In addition to
that, the center is dedicated to expanding value-adding research and to sharing breakthrough technologies betw een industries.
Environment Technology Research Center
With the aim of pioneering progress in environm entally-friendly cars, the Environm ent Technology Research Center was established in Septem ber 2005. The center
sits on a landsite of approximately 30,397sqm, and its actual building area covers a floor area of 14,190sqm . It is located in Yongin city on the outskirts of Seoul. This
center is responsible for carrying out m ajor research activities covering the developm ent of approxim ately 400 environm ent related com ponents. Som e of its
research activities include 700bar hydrogen chargers & fuel cell durability tests. Other activities include research on electric m otor system s, environm ent testers, as
well as write-off disposal system s. The center has also allocated part of its budget tow ards the developm ent of exhaust reduction and recycling technologies, and
clean production technologies.
America Technical Center
The Am erica Technical Center located in Detroit Michigan has a test drive area spanning over 17.65 m illion sqm . Our US-based research center is devoted to
developing cars suitable to the American m arket. The center employs 249 research personnel including designers and engineers. Its m ain areas of research cover
fuel consum ption, exhaust gas reduction systems and ergonom ic design planning; another major arm of research revolves around conducting fuel cell
demonstrations and building hydrogen chargers infrastructure in conjunction with the US Departm ent of energy.
Japan R&D Center
Located in Chiba, our Japan R&D Center carries out research work to develop Advanced Safety Vehicle (ASV) system s, as well as autom otive inform ation &
entertainm ent system s. The Japan center creates next generation cars, based on cutting edge research in hybrid electric autom obiles and fuel cell technology.
Major research activities around autom obile designs is being conducted by a design team situated in the Yokoham a Office. In total, the center em ploys 77 research
personnel including designers and engineers.
Europe Engineering Center
The Europe Engineering Center is located in Russelsheim (Germany) and its range of research activities include product planning and pow er train developm ent. The
center is also responsible for autom obile appraisals, legal certifications and technical support activities for the European plant. The center has pow er train
equipment such as an engine and vehicle dynamometers; it also houses an exhaust gas analyzer that verifies engine performance, so that emissions com ply with
exhaust gas regulations. Last but not least, the European center possesses chassis m easuring equipment that optimizes steering and suspension devices.