Kia Motor Corp.'s Morning was named the best city car by a German automotive magazine on Wednesday amid the carmaker's push to expand its foothold in the European market.
  

The car, sold in Europe as the Picanto, ranked first in its segment after receiving 452 points out of a possible 700 in an assessment of three models carried out by Auto Bild.
  

The vehicles were assessed in seven categories including car frame, engine, and environmental friendliness, six of which the Morning earned the best scores to nudge out the French-made Peugeot 108 and the Japanese Mitsubishi Space Star.
  

Kia's city car received positive ratings as "a fairly priced, outstanding car" by the German magazine, which added that the latest edition of the Morning overcame initial weaknesses in previous models.
  

The latest win comes nearly four years after the Morning was named the best foreign-made small city car by Auto Bild in August 2011. 
  

The South Korean carmaker began sales of the revamped Morning in Europe in March, and sales in western European countries jumped 10.1 percent on-year in May to 4,824 units, according to industry data. (Yonhap)