• Kia Stinger qualified for the award after being named AJAC’s Best Large Car in Canada for 2019
  • Kia Forte also qualified for the award after being named AJAC’s Best Small Car in Canada for 2019

TORONTO, Feb. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at the Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS) in Toronto, the Kia Stinger has been named AJAC's 2019 Canadian Car of the Year, after being named Best Large Car earlier this year. A grand touring sedan loaded with safety and convenience technologies, the Kia Stinger has found a special place in the heart and driveway of many Canadian drivers and is now even further recognized by many of Canada’s top automotive experts.

“Winning AJAC’s Car of the Year award for the Stinger is a great honour for everyone within the Kia family,” said Michael Kopke, Director of Marketing, Kia Canada. “As a young brand that has come a long way in 20 years here in Canada, we’re grateful to all of AJAC’s voting journalists for taking the time to review our vehicles and recognizing the quality that our brand has put so much focus on.”

For Kia, now celebrating its 20 th year in Canada, this year’s AJAC awards demonstrate how far the brand has come in terms of quality, design and consumer-focused technologies and features.

"It's a great achievement for a vehicle to win one of AJAC's coveted Canadian Car of the Year awards, but it's exceptional for the same automaker to make two award-winning vehicles in the same year,” said Mark Richardson, President, Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. “Congratulations to Kia for the well-deserved success of the Stinger and Forte."

For Canadians that have not yet considered a Kia, the awards are another reason to look at the brand with the ‘Power to Surprise.’  Both vehicles will be on display at this year’s Canadian auto shows and are currently available in dealerships across the country.

More information on Canada’s Car of the Year, Canada’s Best Large Car and the entire Kia lineup can be found at Kia.ca .

About the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) is an association of professional journalists, writers, photographers, and corporate members whose focus is the automobile and the Canadian automotive industry. Collectively, our primary objectives are to promote, encourage, support, and facilitate professionalism in Canadian automotive journalism and to ensure factual and ethical reporting about the automobile and automotive issues to Canadian consumers. This is achieved through the work of our members and AJAC’s annual vehicle testing and evaluation events, the Canadian Car of the Year and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards (CCOTY and CUVOTY), Innovation Awards, and EcoRun.

About Kia Canada Inc. Kia Canada Inc. (KCI), established in 1999 and celebrating 20 years in Canada, is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) based in Seoul, South Korea. Kia’s full line of award-winning vehicles offers world-class quality and customer satisfaction through a network of 193 dealers nationwide. The company employs 170 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters, various locations across Canada and at its regional office in Montreal, Quebec. Kia’s brand slogan "The Power to Surprise" represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation. From compact to crossover to industry leading EV’s, every Kia delivers an extraordinary combination of precision engineering, outstanding performance, innovative features, and advanced safety systems. Having sold close to one million vehicles, popular Canadian models include Soul, Forte, Sportage, Sorento and Stinger. To learn more about the Kia advantage, visit kia.ca or Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter and Instagram .

For more information about Kia Canada and our products, please visit our Media Centre at KiaMedia.ca or contact:

Mark James                                              Corporate Communications Manager                  Kia Canada Inc.                                  T: 905-755-6251 E: mjames@kia.ca

Frederic Tremblay (Quebec Inquiries) Directeur relations publiques et communications – Région de l’est Kia Canada Inc.                                  T: 514-955-0505 x 2209 E: ftremblay@kia.ca  

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...3535822949