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Planting a Cee’d
Johnson Controls’ relationship with Kia grows
“Designed by Europeans. Tested on Europeans.” That’s how the Kia cee’d website described the new car offering from the Korean automaker. Except it forgot to include one line: “Made for Europeans.”
It’s evident in its sleek and stylish euro-design. And it’s also evident in its name: During the car’s development, its secret code name was ED, for “European Design.” Soon, engineers added a CE—short for “Community of Europe”—and a secret name became not so secret. What’s more, the Kia cee’d has become the linchpin in Kia’s long-term growth strategy for European market penetration. And the carmaker couldn’t have done it without Johnson Controls.
To this end, Johnson Controls supplied the carmaker with the vehicle’s:
With the headliner, Johnson Controls stressed options. There’s variety created by different grab handles, over¬head consoles, make-up and interior lights, cable harnesses, clips, hooks and mounting frames. And because the headliner is built from a multi-layered substrate, there’s also superb sound absorption.
Variety also extends to the floor console. Johnson Controls supplies a range of different variants—up to 1,000 possible combinations—including package trays, cup holders and, in some cases, armrests that include two storage compartments.
Johnson Controls also caters to its partners’ desire for efficient manufacturing. To accommodate Kia’s just-in-time protocol, Johnson Controls provides its floor consoles as completely assembled modules.
It’s evident in its sleek and stylish euro-design. And it’s also evident in its name: During the car’s development, its secret code name was ED, for “European Design.” Soon, engineers added a CE—short for “Community of Europe”—and a secret name became not so secret. What’s more, the Kia cee’d has become the linchpin in Kia’s long-term growth strategy for European market penetration. And the carmaker couldn’t have done it without Johnson Controls.
Korean Company. European Design.
Since the cee’d is the first Kia built from the ground up with an eye toward the unique needs of the European marketplace, it made sense for the car company to work with Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls brought a lifetime’s worth of expertise and innovation to its partnership, working closely with Kia engineers to ensure that the vehicle’s interior fulfills European safety, design and craftsmanship requirements.To this end, Johnson Controls supplied the carmaker with the vehicle’s:
- Seating
- Door panels
- Headliner
- Sun visors
- Floor console
- An innovative active head-restraint system
In-jean-ious
The innovations continue into other areas of the vehicle. For example, the door panels feature In-Mold Graining technology that provides a distinctive texture to the body part. In this case, the technology afforded the cee’d the ability to re-create a twill texture that is reminiscent of denim jeans.With the headliner, Johnson Controls stressed options. There’s variety created by different grab handles, over¬head consoles, make-up and interior lights, cable harnesses, clips, hooks and mounting frames. And because the headliner is built from a multi-layered substrate, there’s also superb sound absorption.
Variety also extends to the floor console. Johnson Controls supplies a range of different variants—up to 1,000 possible combinations—including package trays, cup holders and, in some cases, armrests that include two storage compartments.
Johnson Controls also caters to its partners’ desire for efficient manufacturing. To accommodate Kia’s just-in-time protocol, Johnson Controls provides its floor consoles as completely assembled modules.
