On the 15th, Kia held a’New Kia Brand Showcase’ through YouTube and its global brand website. Kia President Song Ho-sung explains the new brand orientation and future strategy in a video. Hunger offer
Kia Motors will remove’Cars’ from the company name and move on to’Kia’. It is a commitment to expand the business area with innovative mobility products and services, away from the manufacturing-oriented business model.
Changed company name in 31 years
On the 15th, Kia opened the’New Kia Brand Showcase’ through YouTube and its global brand website and introduced a new mission. Kia’s name change was 31 years after Kia Industrial changed its name to Kia Motors in 1990. President Song Ho-sung said, “The change has begun to provide sustainable mobility solutions to customers and various social communities.
President Song emphasized his willingness to change by sharing opinions of criticism from experts, employees, and consumers about the Kia brand. The video contained sharp points such as’It is an ordinary car,”It seems to be in a stationary phase’, and’I have never seen a product to admire. President Song emphasized, “This voice is the reason for the change.”
Kia previously unveiled a new logo and brand slogan. The new logo concisely expresses the Kia alphabet (KIA) by embodying the three concepts of △balance, △rhythm, and rise. The new slogan is’movement that inspires’. It means providing a variety of mobility and inspiring customers’ lives with innovative products and services.
Full-scale construction of electric vehicle lineup
Along with the company name change, Kia is starting full-scale operation of’Plan S’, a mid- to long-term business strategy announced earlier last year. This is a strategy to take a leading position in the future mobility industry by expanding the business to electric vehicles, mobility solutions, mobility services, and purpose-based vehicles (PBVs).
Kia’s first dedicated electric vehicle (project name CV) is expected to be released in the first quarter. CV is based on E-GMP and can drive more than 500km with one charge. Equipped with an 800V charging system, it can charge up to 80% in 18 minutes. As a crossover utility vehicle (CUV), the new logo is first applied.
Starting with the CV, Kia plans to introduce seven new exclusive electric vehicles by 2027. Kia explained that it will be of various types, from passenger cars to sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and multipurpose vehicles (MPVs). “Electric vehicles will be named EV1 to EV9,” said Karim Habib, managing director of design. Kia also proposed a goal of securing a 6.6% share of the global electric vehicle market by 2025 and selling 500,000 electric vehicles per year by 2026.
Development of low-floor logistics vehicle
Various PBVs are also released for corporate customers. PBV is composed of a modular body to meet the needs of various companies based on a highly flexible skateboard platform. It plans to apply various bodies on the integrated modular platform so that the functions can be adjusted according to the user’s purpose.
Shared service vehicles, low-floor logistics vehicles, and delivery vehicles. The industry expects the PBV market to grow fivefold by 2030.
It also improves the way we work and the culture. President Song emphasized, “The change of Kia’s brand is not just a change in the company’s name and logo design, but a will to meet the diverse needs of customers around the world through expansion into new business areas.” “For this, all employees must have an autonomous and flexible work environment and a creative organizational culture.”
Reporter Kim Il-gyu [email protected]