February 7 is the first working day after the Spring Festival holiday. Just after starting work, Kia made a big news. South Korea's Kia Co., Ltd. signed an expansion investment agreement with Yancheng People's Government and Jiangsu Yueda Group to increase its capital by US$900 million and decided to do a big job in the Chinese market.
In fact, after Dongfeng Group launched Dongfeng Yueda Kia at the end of last year, Kia was once put on the stage by public opinion, and many voices questioned Kia's development in the Chinese market, and even some people said that Kia may launch the Chinese market. On the first working day after the new car holiday, Kia announced the capital increase, which is more like a "response" to these voices, and it can also see Kia's confidence in China and the "new Kia" side.
Take root in Yancheng and open a new era of joint ventures
Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Entry of the Kia brand into China, 2022 has made a new layout and planning in China.
It is understood that Kia will take root in Yancheng. With the support of the Yancheng government, kia will provide support for the export trade of kia's Yancheng plant, and Kia will naturally expand sales in the Chinese market, and Yancheng will also be a base for Kia's future career development. In addition, Kia and Yueda plan to establish a joint venture company to open a new era of joint ventures, and the new company name will be officially released in April.
Obviously, Kia acquired 25% of dongfeng's shares for less than 300 million yuan, raising the 50% shareholding ratio of the joint venture to 75%, and the voice is higher. Not only is it just a proposed joint venture, Kia will also carry out innovative marketing activities to show the "New Kia" side.
For example, increase consumer brand experience touchpoints; throughout the year will continue to carry out "door-to-door test drive" and "door-to-door service" to let consumers feel a new brand experience. In a way, these may confirm Kia's right to speak.
By 2027, six electric vehicle matrices will be constructed
In addition, Kia and Yueda plan to increase their capital by US$900 million, introduce new models, set up export bases, and focus on promoting the development of global strategic models and new energy vehicles. In other words, Kia will have a completely new layout for its products. It is said that kia's new cars on the market this year will be equipped with a large number of safety configurations and new technology configurations to enhance product competitiveness.
The development direction of the product is mainly based on models on sale such as Jiahua and Zhipao Ace, as well as new new energy models. According to the official, Kia will launch a new SUV Sportage and its hybrid version this year, as well as a K3 remodeled model; at the same time, it will take the new pure electric vehicle EV6 as a starting point, and will gradually build a new EV matrix of 6 electric vehicles by 2027, and launch an electric vehicle in the Chinese market every year.
In fact, in recent years, the sales of Korean cars in China have been somewhat frustrated compared with the past, on the one hand, because the product strength is not prominent enough, on the other hand, because of the impact of new energy vehicles. From the perspective of Kia's current product matrix, it is also relatively weak in the field of new energy, and now focusing on promoting the development of new energy vehicles may make Kia have stronger core competitiveness and new vitality.
The production and sales target for the next ten years is more than 4 million vehicles
In the global market, Kia has sold more than 50 million vehicles, and in 2021, Kia's global sales volume was 2.7771 million units, an increase of 6.5% year-on-year, which is enough to show that Kia's overall performance in the world is good. In fact, since entering China for 20 years, Kia has sold nearly 6 million vehicles in China, and China has gradually become one of Kia's main markets.
The signing of the expansion investment agreement by Kia also said that it has set a target of more than 4 million vehicles in China in the next decade. There is no doubt that after the withdrawal of Dongfeng, Kia's "appetite" is getting bigger and bigger, after all, Kia's initiative can be stronger now, can integrate global resources, quickly promote the implementation of global strategies, and take the initiative to provide More valuable products and services for Chinese consumers.
On average, Kia would need to produce and sell at least 400,000 vehicles a year if it were to meet that goal, which is challenging for Kia at the moment, but not without opportunities. After all, Kia has not tried to sell hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year, and ten years is not short, coupled with the continuous launch and improvement of its products, it is also possible for production and sales to exceed 4 million vehicles, but this key point may fall on Kia's development in the field of new energy.
Auto Network Review: Metamorphosis begins with a new one
2022 marks the 20th anniversary of Kia's entry into China and a key year for its strategy of deepening brand renewal and carbon neutrality in 2045. It can be seen that Kia has indeed shown a new side, including logo, corporate structure, product strategy, brand services and even brand goals, and these bits and pieces of piling up are actually a transformation.
The former Dongfeng Yueda Kia, by the East Wind, Yueda, Kia "three-legged standing", now become Kia and Yueda "two-person turn", but in comparison seems that the latter is more passionate, more momentum, and more planned. Of course, as for kia's future development in the Chinese market, it is up to time to verify it.