Stop-start tipped for Kia Picanto

The Picanto is expected to fetch between about $20,000 and $24,000 in NZ. Photo / Supplied

The new Kia Picanto mini car is almost certain to be equipped with stop-start technology when it goes on sale in New Zealand towards the end of next month.

Inclusion of the carmaker's system as standard equipment would make the likely sub-$20,000 Picanto the cheapest car in the country with the fuel-saving technology.

Kia itself won't say if stop-start will be available in the new line-up. Kia Motors NZ general manager Todd McDonald says only that the new Picanto will have "increased specification".

But the cars on their way to New Zealand are identical to those now on sale in Britain - and the British cars have stop-start, a 1.25-litre engine, four-speed automatic gearbox, a C02 exhaust emissions rating of 100gr/km, and town-and-around fuel economy of 4.2 litres/100km, or 66mpg.

As a rule, Kia Motors NZ takes the same cars (Sportage, Optima and so on) as Australia. But Kia Australia isn't picking up the new Picanto, so Kia NZ will dip into British production.

Word on dealer street has it that three Picanto variants will be available here, priced between $19,999 and $23,999.

Stop-start will be standard on all three models, with electronic stability control and an iPod connection. Two models will get six airbags; the top-spec example will get seven.

McDonald wouldn't comment on the Picanto line-up.

"The car will be launched to the press in New Zealand on July 21, that's all I can confirm," he said.

But he did say the new Picanto would be more expensive than the outgoing model.

"We are still in negotiation with the factory over the price, but there's no way we can maintain the current price with the increased specification of the new cars," McDonald said.

The South Korean carmaker has made significant sales' gains in recent years, moving its range up in the world and away from an earlier reputation for bland, budget models.

Design chief Peter Schreyer has given the Picanto bold, chunky styling and sculpted lines to help create a premium look.

The styling has appealed worldwide, particularly in the United States where Kia and its bigger brother Hyundai were expected to outsell Toyota and Honda in May.

Automotive industry analyst TrueCar.com pegged Hyundai-Kia sales at 115,434 units in May, a 43.4 per cent increase from May last year.

That would give the South Korean group a 10.9 per cent market share of the US market and make it No3 behind Ford and General Motors.

TrueCar said Hyundai-Kia's momentum and Honda's and Toyota's slow May sales - dragged down by earthquake-related inventory shortages and low incentives - contributed to the South Koreans' expected No3 ranking.