More sales, refreshed dealers for Kia

A REFRESHED dealer network and key new models will lead Kia Motors Australia’s aggressive push to nearly double its market share.

Kia Australia president and CEO Charlie Kim said in January this year that he has set his sights on a five per cent overall market share, without specifying a target date for the ambitious goal.

Last year Kia achieved overall sales of 30,758 units for a 2.8 per cent market share, itself a 22 per cent jump over the previous year’s results. Sales to the end of May this year are sitting at 12,139 units, a 2.2 per cent drop on the same period last year.

The drop comes despite the fact that a number of Kia’s key models have experienced a sales boost in the first five months of the year, with the Rio light car up 22 per cent and the Optima mid-size sedan 24 per cent up on the same period in 2012.

Kia’s Sorento SUV has also improved on last year’s result with a six per cent boost thanks to the arrival of the facelifted model in October, while the Sportage compact SUV has lifted by nine per cent.

The introduction of the new-generation Cerato sedan last month and hatch in the third quarter of the year will no doubt have an impact on sales of the small car range.

To support its growing range, Kia began rolling out a dealer renewal program in 2011 that will continue across the country this year, with Joe Crisafio Motors in Perth the latest dealership to gain the company’s new corporate ID.

The refreshed ID includes the use of a chrome, rather than red Kia logo, new furniture, an updated service area and redesigned interiors with a standard layout for all dealers.

Mr Hepworth said that Kia is keen to change perceptions of the brand and the dealership refresh program is a part of that plan.

“Over the last 18 months, we have started a program to refresh and renew Kia dealerships so they are no longer the shed down the back. They will have a prominence, a style, a modern look. People won’t be embarrassed about going into a Kia dealership,” he said.

Mr Hepworth said that the refresh was about enhancing the prominence of the dealers, rather than increasing the number of dealerships that sits at around 120 nationally.

Kia’s marketing strategy currently includes television advertising that uses a humourous bent to promote models such as the Rio, Sportage and Cerato.

While the strategy may not be used to advertise all Kia models, Mr Hepworth said it had been effective in keeping the brand in people’s minds.

“You can get up there and pontificate all you want but its probably not going to work for you in retention. People will turn off pretty quickly.”

Kia also uses sports sponsorship as a means of promoting the brand, most notably with a renewed five-year contract as the major corporate sponsor of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

Other lucrative deals include the sponsorship of the Essendon AFL club, while globally Kia sponsors the FIFA World Cup, the ESPN-owned X Games and has naming rights to Madison Square Garden in New York.