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Kia has started manufacturing of its three-door Pro-cee'd model at its European site at Zilina in Slovakia six weeks ahead of schedule. The car made its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

"The build quality and productivity levels achieved by our Zilina operations are quite remarkable," said In-Kyu Bae, president and CEO Kia Motors Slovakia (KMS). "These two factors, plus the skills and versatility of our workforce, have enabled us to bring forward assembly of the first customer Pro-cee'd cars by six weeks."

Jean-Charles Lievens, senior vice president of Kia Motors Europe, said: "Since its launch in Europe in December 2006, orders for more than 100,000 cee'd five-door models have been received. The Kia Pro-cee'd will expand our appeal to a different audience."

The Pro-cee'd has an extended nose, a shallower front grille, new-style headlamps, a wider bumper with a prominent lip spoiler, a deeper central air intake and larger fog lights. The windscreen is much shallower and the doors are 276 mm longer.

Zilina is now building four different Kia models - cee'd five-door hatchback, cee'd Sporty Wagon, Pro-cee'd three-door and Sportage SUV - on the same assembly lines. Kia intends that the site should manufacture 100 cars per employee per year when fully operational, rivalling the most productive car plants in Europe.