![The exterior design of the EV6, an exclusive electric vehicle that Kia recently unveiled. [사진 기아]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202103/21/ff1efa64-6f51-409d-9ae7-93254f65c187.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
The exterior design of the EV6, an exclusive electric vehicle that Kia recently unveiled. [사진 기아]
Kia Motors faced opposition from the labor union ahead of online reservation for the latest electric vehicle (EV)’EV6′. This is because the union is stubbornly protesting, saying, “Internet pre-booking will eventually lead to the collapse of offline sales networks.” EV6 is the first new car to be released after Kia Motors completed the company name change to’KIA’ at the shareholders’ meeting on the 22nd. From the name of the car, the number 6 was added to the EV to maximize its identity as an electric vehicle.
Unions stubbornly oppose online sales movements
According to the Kia Motors and the Kia Motors branch of the metals union on the 21st, Kia Motors’ domestic business headquarters recently delivered a policy of “to make online reservations for customers prior to the release of EV6” through a meeting of heads of sales divisions by region. This is to make up for the release gap until’released at the end of March and officially released in early July’, and to introduce a method of selling mobile devices like the Apple iPhone.
EV6’s online pre-booking is a method of depositing a down payment (100,000 won) over the Internet and then writing down the name, contact information and desired model. Like Tesla, everything from vehicle contracts to payment and installment options is not done through the Internet. It is known that Kia’s domestic business headquarters has reviewed the EV6’s Internet pre-reservation from the beginning of this year.
The Kia Motors union is opposing, seeing that online reservations will soon lead to online sales. Kia’s sales union said in a recent union newsletter, “The introduction of the online reservation method is expected to expand to online sales, causing serious employment insecurity in the sales force. In the end, I have doubts whether the EV6’s advance online reservation is a prerequisite for online sales of all models.”
The sales union accounts for 10% (about 3,000) of the members (about 30,000) of the Kia Motors Department of the metals union. However, compared to the production and research labor unions, the solidarity is strong. Kia is stipulated in the collective labor-management agreement to discuss sales methods with the union for each vehicle type.
Kia Motors Labor-Management Cooperative Article 48 ② When transferring or suspending the sales rights (including mail order) of mass-produced vehicle types, it shall be notified to the union before the plan is finalized and implemented in accordance with the opinions of labor and management.
Union “Isn’t it the procedure to sell all models online?”
The Hyundai Motors sales union, which is a brother of Kia, is also in the position that “automobile sales should not be conducted through channels other than offline (online, home shopping, etc.).” In March 2018, when the Moon Jae-in administration changed the system so that automobiles can be sold on TV home shopping, it was repulsed by saying, “Because it is a system decided by the Park Geun-hye administration, the former regime is abusive.”
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia are currently cautious about domestic online sales. An official from Kia replied, “Online pre-booking is conducted for customer convenience, demand forecasting, and total sales volume forecasting, which is different from online sales.”
Reporter Kim Young-min [email protected]
