Kia Motors to unveil the nation’s first carbon fiber car

Kia Motors released a new model of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) “Sorento” in last month, the nation’s first vehicle built with the dream material carbon fiber with 2,000-cubic centimeter engine displacement. Kia Motors is the first Korean carmaker to use carbon fiber as a material to build cars. Carbon fiber is the most popular material used for building lighter cars because it weighs one quarter of steel yet is 10-times stronger than steel.

An official at Kia Motors recently said “The redesigned Sorento is the first vehicle to feature the ‘panorama sunroof frame’ made with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), one of carbon fiber composites.” The CFRP-based sunroof frame weighs 10 kilograms, half of the steel-based frame, but is five times stronger.

Japan’s Toray Industries, the world’s largest producer of carbon fiber, supplies CFRP. According to Kia Motors, the use of the material for building the sunroof frame moves the car’s center of gravity downward and thus improves stability during driving. The use of CFRP also reduces the car’s weight and thereby improves gas mileage, in addition to strengthening the car’s intensity and as a result improving safety in case of accidents.

As Kia Motors started using carbon fiber for producing cars, Hyundai Motor Group is believed to have laid the groundwork for overcoming global automakers in the carbon fiber field.

As Kia Motors initiated adopting carbon fiber for manufacturing cars, Hyundai Motor Group is considered to have laid the groundwork for surpassing global top-ranked automakers in the carbon fiber field. The Group recently expressed its policy of steadily expanding the application of carbon fiber to vehicles.

 
 
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