Kia marks 20 years in the UK marketplace
“It was twenty years ago today that Kia hit the British highway,” so the song would go if Messrs Lennon & Macca were to turn their hand to automotive-based hits today.
But anyway, that’s correct; it has been exactly two decades since the Korean manufacturer dove into UK’s retail waters with its sole model – the Pride – 1,786 of which were shifted in the UK during Kia’s debut year.
Compare that to the 56,114 sold in 2010 – a record year for Kia – and the progress made hardly requires further explanation.
Noted initially for presenting value for money with early versions of the Sportage crossover and Sedona MPV, later models like the cee’d has associated Kia’s reputation more towards quality and reliability.
“Kia has been on quite a phenomenal journey in recent years,” said Michael Cole, Managing Director of Kia Motors UK.
“In less than two decades, we’ve certainly lived up to our ‘Power to Surprise’ slogan by growing from a relatively small importer to challenging the best and most established brands in the industry.
“We think we have a fantastic range of cars and, judging by our growth over the last few years, it seems our customers think so too. 2011 is set to be our busiest year yet and I’m confident it’ll be one where we challenge perceptions more than ever as we launch three superb new products in the UK – new Picanto, new Rio and, later in the year, new Kia Optima.”
It’s been a successful year so far for Kia. The anniversary of Kia’s UK presence comes less than two weeks after the new Picanto was released with improved fuel consumption while delivering greater performance.
In April, the entire Kia range was placed on the Government’s vehicle purchase framework agreement, opening a wider fleet audience that includes central government departments and public sector bodies like the NHS and local councils.
John Hargreaves, Head of Fleet and Remarketing at Kia Motors, commented at the time: “Kia’s participation in the Buying Solutions Framework Agreement is timely as it will give public sector fleets the chance to take advantage of our excellent value for money sales proposition.”
Kia Motors as an entity actually celebrated its 67th birthday in May.
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