Last year was definitely the most difficult year for Kia, not only breaking up with Dongfeng Motor, which has been married for 20 years, but also setting a record low in sales. According to official figures, total sales in 2021 will be just 152,000 units. You know, in 2016, Kia also set a peak in domestic sales, reaching 650,000 vehicles.
In just five years, the once invincible Kia collapsed, and even faced the risk of delisting, making people have to sigh that "thirty years of Hedong, thirty years of Hexi" came too quickly. For Kia, with the breakup with Dongfeng, not only can no longer use the name of "Dongfeng Yueda Kia", the future development situation is even more severe, how to reverse the declining sales in China, is Kia's current top priority.
The fourth generation of Kahua has failed
The addition of new cars is the most direct way to increase sales, and after the failure of the K5 replacement, Kia also introduced Jawa into domestic production again last year. Why again? As early as 2004, Kia made Kahua domestically, but in the end it was because sales were too low, and the subsequent replacement models were cancelled.
I thought that the return of the fourth generation of Jawa would make Kia change in sales, but the results were always unsatisfactory, and the monthly sales of the fourth generation of Jawa since its listing were basically maintained at about 500 vehicles, which did not achieve the expected effect.
From the perspective of product strength, the fourth generation of Jiahua is definitely an excellent student in the same level of MPV, whether it is configuration or spatial performance. The main reason why the fourth generation of Jiahua is not popular is still too high pricing, as far as Kia's current influence in China is concerned, it is simply not enough to support the price of the fourth generation of Jiahua starting from 288,900 yuan, which is also the reason for the dismal sales of the fourth generation of Jiahua.
The introduction of a new flagship SUV can save the market in China?
Seeing that the sales of the new generation K5 and the fourth generation of Jawa are not satisfactory, there is also news on the Internet recently that Kia is going to introduce a new medium and large flagship SUV to fill the gap in Kia's domestic medium and large SUV market.
Combined with the revelations of overseas media, Kia's upcoming introduction of this medium-sized flagship SUV in China is likely to be a medium-term modification of Telluride, and the road test spy photos of the new car have been exposed. In terms of appearance, the new car is covered with a high degree of camouflage, from the contour point of view, the body size of the new car is basically the same as the current model, the front face headlight group shape will be newly designed, the internal structure of the light group will be vertical design, and the grille will also be adjusted, which is more exquisite than the current model.
In addition, the rear shape will also be greatly adjusted, the tail light group may be in a through-through design, and the front and rear bumper shapes will also be changed.
Kia Telluride's most eye-catching is still in terms of power, the overseas version of the model is equipped with a 3.8L V6 engine, with a maximum power of 217 kW and a maximum torque of 355 N·m, and matched with an 8AT gearbox. Since it is only a mid-term overhaul, the new car is not expected to change much in terms of power. According to the revelations of overseas media, the mid-term modification Telluride will be officially unveiled at the end of the year and will be listed next year.
From a competitive point of view, as a medium-sized SUV, Kia Telluride has a strong competitiveness in terms of power compared with competitors of the same level. If the domestic powertrain of retaining 3.8L V6+8AT is introduced in the future, it is bound to cause quite a stir in the domestic medium and large SUV market.
However, according to the principle of introducing domestic ratio reduction, it is basically impossible to retain a large-displacement powertrain, and it is extremely likely that it will be castrated into 2.0T+8AT. Although such a momentum is enough to drive this big man, but in the face of the domestic medium and large SUV market Toon and explorers, Kia Telluride will not have the advantage in power, the only hope of winning lies in whether it can impress consumers with price.
However, judging from Kia's starting price of 288,900 yuan for the fourth generation of Jiahua, Kia does not seem to be willing to lower its posture and fight a price war with its opponents. Although the introduction of Telluride in China will enhance Kia's brand image to a certain extent, medium and large SUVs are not volume models after all, and it is difficult to reverse Kia's current predicament in China by Relying on Telluride alone.
Write at the end:
For Kia, if it wants to win this turnaround battle at home, it must come up with products with sincerity, rather than focusing on the mid-to-high-end market. After all, the market within 200,000 yuan is the main source of Kia's sales, but unfortunately, kia has not come up with any eye-catching products in the market of less than 200,000 yuan in recent years.
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