Kia’s Idle Stop & Go technology promises 15% fuel savings

Korean automaker Kia Motors Corp. announced that full-scale production of the six new Kia cee’d ISG (Idle Stop & Go) models, which offer up to 15% fuel savings in city driving, is now underway at its Zilina, Slovakia facility, with deliveries to customers across Europe slated to begin during the next two months. Made in Europe, the C-segment cee’d ISG cars are the first Kia models to benefit from the corporation’s continuing investment in eco-friendly technologies. The innovative ISG system automatically switches the engine off when the car is stopped in traffic and restarts the engine instantly when needed. If the car’s battery power drops below 75%, or there is insufficient energy available for the next start-up, the system will abort the ISG program. (January 14, 2009)