A STRIKING design has been revealed by Kia at the Frankfurt Motor Show as the Korean car maker sets out on a product offensive.

The sleek Proceed concept made its debut alongside the company's new Stonic compact crossover and a pumped up version of its city car - the Picanto X Line.

Also on show was an updated Sorento SUV with a more efficient eight-speed auto gearbox and now available in high grade GT Line trim, and Kia's new flagship Stinger four-door sports coupe - its most powerful model ever.

The Proceed concept has been styled in Europe at Kia's design centre in Frankfurt and gives a hint of how the new cee'd model range will look when it is released next year.

Looking very much a hot shooting brake, the new Kia appeared in a brilliant red paint job emphasising its low-slung lines which in turn are highlighted by illuminated strips running along the window line.

Gregory Guillaume, Kia's chief designer in Europe, said: "With many European drivers now seeking performance alternatives to the three-door hatchback style we began thinking about a different halo model for the cee'd family."

To be built at Kia's factory in Slovakia, the new cee'd will be five-door only with an upgraded cockpit, although not as futuristic as the interior of the Proceed concept.

That featured a strange blend of haute couture including the rear seats upholstered in more than 100 metres of ripped black fabric, satin lining for the doors and footwells and the dashboard finished in knurled aluminium

Michael Cole, Kia's chief operating officer for Europe, said that despite the new car market dipping in recent months, Kia was bucking the trend with sales up more than eight per cent compared to this time last year.

He said that the company anticipated its sales in Europe would hit a record 470,000 this year and already it had passesd the quarter of a million mark giving it a three per cent share of the European car scene.