Manufacturer: Kia Motors

Total sales 2014: 2,907,757

Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea

Global market share: 3.5%

Investment in production…

Kia Motors Corporation recorded a 6% cumulative year‐on‐year sales increase in 2014 compared to 2013, thanks largely to strong sales in China and international markets. The brand’s 2014 bestselling model was the B‐segment Rio (known as ‘K2’ in China) with 491,613 units sold, followed by the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Forte’ or ‘K3’ in some markets) with 432,420 units delivered. The Sportage compact SUV, Optima D‐segment sedan and Soul urban crossover followed with 416,856; 300,685 and 194,572 units sold, respectively.

Kia now holds a 2.6% share of European sales, up from 1.6% in 2009, with a 47.3% increase to 296,768 units in 2014. Its biggest sellers in the region– Sportage, cee’d and Venga – are all built locally, helping to reduce lead times. Kia experienced a slight tailing off of European sales towards the end of 2014 but the Sportage midsized SUV and the new‐generation Sorento large SUV are expected to reestablish growth in 2015.

The manufacturer performed mid‐life upgrades of the Sportage, Optima, Venga and Rio in 2014, as well as launching a new Soul into the rapidly expanding B‐SUV sector.

The first‐generation Soul performed particularly well in the United States, where it gained sales from the Toyota Scion xB and Nissan Cube, and Kia maintained the same boxy style language for the second‐generation model. The platform for the new model is shared with the cee’d rather than the Venga, and while CO2 and economy figures are above segment benchmarks, improvements to the driving experience and material quality have helped lift sales.

Kia has been present in China for more than 10 years and currently has two assembly operations working at full capacity, with plans for a third plant awaiting approval.

By the end of 2016, Kia aims to build one million units per year in the country.

China is now one of Kia’s top three markets along with South Korea itself and North America, and models such as the KX3 concept, unveiled at the 2014 Guangzhou Motor Show, are being developed to meet the specific needs of Chinese customers. The KX3 concept has been designed and engineered through Dongfeng Yueda Kia, the Korean brand’s joint venture in China, and hints at a China‐only SUV production model.

A $1bn agreement to build a new production plant in Mexico was finalised in August 2014, with construction on the Kia Motors Mexico plant in Nuevo León scheduled for completion in early 2016. It will boast a targeted annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles, and Kia expects the Mexico plant to play a major role in alleviating current global supply issues thanks to its strategic geographic location.

Its proximity to the USA will enable the company to better address the ongoing supply shortage situation, and Kia plans to utilise the plant to strengthen the brand’s sales presence throughout the entire Central and South America region. The brand is also rumoured to be considering a plant in India to establish a local foothold in this fast‐growing market.

Focus on alternative drivetrains…

Launched in April 2015, new Sorento kicked off a busy launch schedule for Kia which also includes face‐lifted versions of Rio and Picanto in Q4. The large SUV is available in five or seven‐seat configurations in international markets, and the 147kw 2.2‐litre diesel engine comes fitted with a six‐speed manual or six‐speed automatic gearbox, as well as standard four‐wheel drive.

Due in 2016, Kia hopes to rival Mondeo and Passat dominace of the D‐segment with its new Optima. Based on the Sportspace concept previewed at the Geneva

Motor Show, the model is likely to utilise Kia’s new mild hybrid system and first dual‐clutch transmission.

Set to appear on all new models from 2015, Kia’s seven‐speed dual‐clutch transmission will replace the existing six‐speed automatic, and is claimed to offer a 5% improvement on acceleration times while achieving a 7% fuel efficiency uplift. A new hybrid system is also due for an imminent launch, allowing all‐electric driving using a small electric motor.

Developed in Germany, the system comprises a battery and motor‐generator, the latter offering regenerative braking while decelerating, functioning as the engine starter and alternator and providing power while cruising or at low speeds.

Following the launch of the Kia Soul EV in July 2014, Kia unveiled a fourwheel drive hybrid concept at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show. The concept’s drivetrain combines a 190hp turbocharged petrol engine, which powers the front wheels, with a 35hp electric rear axle, supplied with electricity via a battery under the boot floor.

Helped by a Hybrid Starter Generator on the petrol engine, which shuts it off when not required and can charge the battery, Kia claims 30% better fuel economy in the city, and 10% on the motorway compared to the 2.0‐litre petrol Soul.

“Kia is committed to developing hybrids, plug‐in hybrids, battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles to provide, primarily, city‐dwellers with a clean and usable alternative to internal combustion engines,” explains John Hargreaves, head of fleet and remarketing at Kia UK.

“However, the fuel cell electric vehicle currently remains an expensive option, so until proper infrastructure is provided and legislative bodies provide the right kind of encouragement, the development of these vehicles will remain slow and piecemeal.”

To help tackle the issue of infrastructure for electric vehicles, Kia is planning a network of charging points spanning its retailers and head offices across

Europe, starting with the addition of two 100kW rapid chargers at its European HQ in Frankfurt in September 2014.

View from the top

John Hargreaves, head of fleet and remarketing at Kia UK, on the brand’s growing user-chooser appeal.

What are your expectations for the forthcoming Optima, compared to the outgoing car?

We are expecting a substantial increase with the new model – this is partly due to the improved CO2 position and also because we expect to have a larger number of cars available for sale in the European markets. Whilst the estate version is not definitely confirmed, following the recent Sportspace concept we are hopeful that this car will be available for sale as, of course, estates are a significant part of the upper medium market and we have performed very strongly with cee’d SW in the lower–medium sector.

Has there been a push towards your higher trim levels in recent years?

To a degree this varies by model line – in general, all our derivatives are very well specified and this extends right down to the lead‐in models – for cee’d, for example, in the UK last year over 20% of our fleet sales were entry level models even though the most popular single vehicle was a mid‐range specification. As you would expect, the situation is slightly different with the larger models – for example over one quarter of our 2014 UK sales of Sportage were in the higher trim levels.

How will Kia carry its sales momentum into 2015?

We have traditionally had a strong presence in the essential user, job need part of the market with products such as cee’d which have very competitive whole life costs. Products such as Sportage have opened up the user‐chooser market for us with company drivers selecting Kia for style as well as cost of ownership reasons. This style/cost effectiveness combination will continue in 2015 with two major new models – Sorento and Optima.