Kia: Flagship KH sleek style setter

Kia's first rear-wheel-drive sedan combines innovative design with high-tech features. Photo / Supplied

A set of teaser photos from Kia Motors provides a tantalising glimpse of the flagship model from the Korean company.

The sketches reveal a sleek and gracious four-door sedan that is expected to establish new standards for design flair in this segment.

The car, codenamed KH, is Kia's first rear-wheel drive sedan and combines innovative design with high-tech features, as chief design officer Peter Schreyer, formerly of Audi, takes styling cues from the Optima and moves it to a whole new level.

KH is among the company's most eagerly anticipated models and will be launched in Kia's domestic market in the next few months.

Kia describes the KH as "distinctive, modern and classic", which is expressed through sophisticated, technically advanced elements combined with Kia's existing dynamic design language aimed at creating vehicles that truly stand out from competitors.

The new model features a bold front-end design that hints at the performance of the car, as well as hallmarking its luxury status. It incorporates Kia's charismatic family-look radiator grille, flanked by streamlined headlamps that reinforce the brand's innovative challenger image and the proportions of the bonnet design give KH a classic car-like feel.

KH's profile, which was a key focus for Schreyer and his design team during development, features a simple side character line to give a feeling of spaciousness, while emphasising the new model's bold and dynamic image. The high-tech, rear combination lamp clusters, plus the luxurious, bold chrome accent give KH a sophisticated ear view.

Todd McDonald, general manager of Kia Motors New Zealand, says KH will provide more proof of the dedication to striking design that has become a feature of all Kia vehicles in recent times.

"There aren't many cars you can describe as beautiful, but from the teaser photos you have to say that KH will be a superb head-turner when it is eventually unveiled. I can't wait."

Meanwhile, Kia Europe says it will sponsor a long-term charitable programme for the planting of shrubs in southern Mali, West Africa.

The project, called Kia - Planting for a Better Life, will see six million jatropha shrubs donated over the next three years, boosting agricultural output and generating income for farmers and their families.

The jatropha is a hardy evergreen perennial which is resilient to drought and pests.

It is toxic to wild animals so makes an ideal hedge plant to enclose other crops.

It also helps prevent soil erosion and, from year five, each shrub produces an average yield of 3.5kg of nuts, sufficient to make 0.5 litres of bio-diesel fuel, boosting the farmer's income.