Kia Files Trademark for New Logo
While Kia and Hyundai have taken major strides in improving their product lineup, their logos aren’t the prettiest in the industry. This is an extremely shallow way to judge an automobile but, with the companies moving away from their former roles as purveyors of cheap steel, it might be time to freshen up their emblems.
Volkswagen recently did so, and it’s had one of the most consistent logo designs (minus those early swastika/ginfaxi years) you’re ever to come across.
Several trademark applications dated November 26th indicate that Kia might be following suit. The brand has a new design pending with the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS), and it’s a major departure from the last update.
If you’ll recall, Kia’s previous (2004) logo alteration basically encapsulated the old corporate font inside a metallic oval and did a palette swap with the background. There’s also a red variant the company frequently uses as its corporate banner (below).
According to Motor1, Kia originally filed an application for the new logo over the summer. Meanwhile, Hyundai has been sitting on its slanted H (which looks like an N) since 1992 and appears happy to continue doing so.
From Motor1:
Designed in red and black flavors, the application for the stylized KIA avatar was made back at home with the [KIPRIS]. The fields for the registration date and application publish date are both empty, which means Kia has yet to receive the stamp of approval from the local authorities, but that’s likely only a matter of time. Digging deeper into the search results provided by KIPRIS reveals Kia actually initially applied for these two logos on July 19.
The design is very similar to the illuminated branding shown on the Kia Imagine Concept that debuted earlier this year at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. However, it’s unclear if the new logo (below) will be used in all markets or for all models. The brand had a stint where it used a separate logo for domestic market vehicles and continues to field special emblems for a handful of models sold in South Korea (e.g. the Stinger). There’s some speculation that the new emblem could be reserved for “new energy vehicles” like the Imagine.
[Images: Kia Motors; KIPRIS]
Consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulations. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, he has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed about the automotive sector by national broadcasts, participated in a few amateur rallying events, and driven more rental cars than anyone ever should. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and learned to drive by twelve. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer and motorcycles.
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The bottom half is missing. It's jarring.
I was looking at a Chevrolet Impala and admiring it's decently handsome lines, but I could never imagine buying one. The biggest turnoff was the logo. The Chevy Bowtie itself is fine, but they've been using the same anodized-gold style bowtie since the mid-1970s and I just hate it. It makes any vehicle its on look dated, frumpy, and cheap. Chevy offers a "blackout" version as an option on some of their cars and trucks and people buy them even though it's a $110 option last time I looked.