Kia to regain mainstream brand position in China

Hyundai's affiliate Kia Motors Corporation is launching an initiative to rejoin the ranks of mainstream vehicle brands in China, and the key advantage is differentiation, a senior executive said.

"You have to be different. If you just follow others you will be in big trouble," said Li Feng, president of its Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Yueda Kia.

Li, who is also vice-president of Hyundai Motor Group China, made the remarks at the opening day of the Beijing auto show on Saturday.

He said features such as appealing to the young and sportiness are something in Kia's DNA and the brand is now making the tags even more eye-catching.

"We are the first brand to announce that we target at the Generation Z," said Li.

He cited the example of the all-new K5, a mid-sized sedan that Dongfeng Yueda Kia is producing locally in China.

It's targeted at the Generation Z, which means the potential customers will be aged below or around 30, and it thus reaches the youngest customer base among the mid-sized sedans, including the Sonata from its sibling Hyundai.

It has worked. Dongfeng Yueda Kia received more than 10,600 orders for the sedan before it hit the market on Sept 7.

Li said a growing lineup is helping drive the momentum, including the fourth-generation Carnival MPV and the all-new Zhipao SUV.

The SUV will sport a new Smartstream 1.5-liter engine featuring Kia's new Continuously Variable Valve Duration technology and offer sportiness that young people desire.

The vehicles also feature connectivity and infotainment functions tailored for young people.

"We hope to take the company back to the right track in two to three years, and a large chunk of our confidence comes from these models," Li said.

Besides gasoline vehicles, Dongfeng Yueda Kia is on the way to introduce electric vehicles. It aims to become a leading player in China's electric vehicle segment in 10 years, Li said.

According to plans, the first electric vehicle will hit the Chinese market in early 2022, and such vehicles will account for 18 percent of the company's total sales by 2025, with the figure expected to exceed 30 percent in 2030.

This is part of Kia's "Plan S" strategy, announced at the start of 2020. It is to expand its electric vehicle lineup to 11 models globally by 2025. Kia said the first of these electric vehicles, code-named CV, will be revealed in 2021.

Kia said the new model will offer the same competitive product quality and eye-catching design as Kia's other vehicles, with high-performance driving and recharging characteristics.

Dongfeng Yueda Kia will introduce the model into China in early 2022. Since then, at least one new model will join the lineup a year till 2027, including sedans and SUVs.

"All of them will be built on the electric car-only platform, the new Electric-Global Modular Platform, " said Li.