All State Journal

Kia Motors “can’t give up” on China’s giant auto market, President Ho-sung Song said, after the South Korean carmaker’s sales in the country fell over recent years.

“The Chinese market is the largest market in the world,” Song told Yicai in an interview. Kia “absolutely can’t give up” on it, he said.

The automaker’s China sales have declined over the past few years, while the joint ventures of Renault, Fiat Chrysler, Mazda, and others undershot on deliveries and closed down. Despite poor sales, Kia still steadfastly invests in bringing products and technologies to the Chinese market and has brought out new models.

Kia will continue to invest heavily in China, Song said, adding that the Seoul-based company plans to introduce six electric vehicle models to the Chinese market by 2027, aiming to sell 180,000 units by 2030 to make up 40 percent of its total sales.

Song said notable differences have emerged between Chinese consumers and those in European countries and the United States. The former care more about vehicle intelligence, the Internet of Vehicles, and entertainment systems, while the latter pay more attention to driving performance and quality, he added.

But their needs will converge in the long run, Song pointed out. So if Kia fails in China because of the smart level and IoV systems of its vehicles, the company also cannot meet European and US customer needs when they change, he added.

In the last five years, Kia did not market a single EV model in China, leading it to miss out on the chance to develop in the country’s burgeoning new energy vehicle market, he noted. But new EVs will be introduced every year from now on, with the EV6, the first all-electric model Kia brings to the Chinese market, to go on sale this month.

In addition, Kia will also set up an inter-connected auto data cloud, implementing a smart interconnectivity function for all the models it launches from 2025. In March, vehicles equipped with the Level 4 self-driving system developed by Hyundai Motor and Kia’s Chinese unit began tests in Shanghai. 

Song said that in addition to increasing product launches, the second change Kia will make in China is to improve the profitability of dealers.

“EVs are developing quickly in China, but 70 percent of local dealers are losing money,” he said. “Long-term loss-making operations are not the direction of market rules development. Kia must find a balance.”

Kia’s Chinese arm recently reached strategic partnerships with big auto dealership groups, including Malaysia-based Sime Darby and Hong Kong-based Kam Lung Motor Group, to expand dealer networks in China’s key first-and second-tier cities.

The factory of Jiangsu Yueda-Kia Motor, a JV of Jiangsu Yueda Group and Kia, in the Chinese city of Yancheng, will be turned into the global exports hub for the Korean company.

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