In the past three years, while the global market is soaring, Kia has been busy in China.
From the release of the "PlanS" medium- and long-term strategy in 2020 to the "Turn-around strategy", Kia has been constantly following up and optimizing actions.
In the words of Kia's China helmsman Liu Changsheng, "We will start new changes from within, including unifying the brand image, implementing the electrification strategy, adjusting the organizational structure, and introducing high-quality products."
"Starting again in the Chinese market" became Kia's primary goal in the next few years.
On the seventh day of the Chinese New Year in the Year of the Tiger, Kia Co., Ltd. of South Korea signed an expansion investment agreement with the People's Government of Yancheng City and Jiangsu Yueda Group. Kia and Yueda plan to form a new joint venture with a us$900 million capital increase.
In addition to announcing the formation of a new joint venture, Yueda and Kia also announced plans for the next 10 years, including the goal of total production and sales of more than 4 million vehicles in China.
Kia's "counter-offensive" in the Chinese market: starting from the global system to feed back
Taking root in Yancheng, kia's determination to fight in China was released. Yancheng is currently Kia's only production base in China, and Yancheng will continue to serve as a base for its future business in China.
"How to do" will be an important issue, and Kia's strategy is clear: integrate into the global system and use global experience to feed back the Chinese market.
At present, Kia has an extensive R&D and design network around the world, with more than 10 factories in 6 countries, with an annual production capacity of 3.7 million vehicles, and a stable R&D and production system and technical background ensure the quality of products.
At the same time, Kia in the field of technology in full bloom, whether it is the traditional internal combustion engine, chassis and gearbox, or hybrid, hydrogen energy, etc. have technical reserves, in terms of sales performance, in May 2021 Kia's global sales exceeded 50 million vehicles, winning the trust of more than 50 million global consumers.
Good production quality and comprehensive technology, can quickly adapt to the development of the Chinese market.
At the same time, Kia will introduce more competitive global models.
In 2022, Kia will launch a new flagship SUV, the Sportage and its hybrid version, as well as a K3 variant.
In addition, 2022 will be the first year of Kia's electrification, in addition to the introduction of HEV hybrid models, the overseas market hot pure electric model EV6 will soon be introduced into the country, and plans to start from next year to 2027, with the new pure electric vehicle EV6 as the starting point, Kia will launch a new electric vehicle model in the Chinese market every year, and gradually build a new EV matrix of 6 electric vehicles.
The success of the global market is a certification of Kia's quality, and it also means that Kia has the strength to "break through" in the domestic market, and also has the courage to face the vigorous reform of competition.
In addition, the new joint venture between Kia and Yueda will build a new organizational structure, and more importantly, introduce more local talents to promote localization.
From rebranding: to product up
Kia's situation in China has never been a lack of product strength, but a lack of soft power in multiple dimensions such as brands.
With the signing ceremony in Yancheng at the beginning of the year, Kia will take the establishment of the new joint venture as an opportunity to reshape the brand image in the Chinese market and unify with the global brand image. In addition, Kia will also strengthen localization marketing and use Kia's global resources to carry out cross-border IP activities such as localization promotion, culture and sports.
For example, Kia has sponsored the Australian Open for 21 consecutive years, the EV6, the fourth generation of Jawa, the Sportage have become the official racing cars, and witnessed the historical moment when global ambassador Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam.
In January this year, Kia sponsored the League of Legends Mobile Game Professional League, becoming the exclusive automotive partner of the event, actively exploring in the theme activities such as event customization, brand linkage, star team/player cooperation, joint peripherals, city races/regional competitions, etc., to bring a richer brand experience to Chinese consumers.
The reshaping of brand power will also affect the performance of products.
For example, Kia's new K5 launched in recent years has set off a wave in the field of B-class cars, leading more young people to pay attention to large-size cars.
Another MPV model, the fourth generation of Jiahua, has also entered the high-end camp and become a popular choice in the field of 300,000 MPV models.
As the first batch of products to test the high price range, the high-end brand has begun to show results. It is understood that since its listing, The sales of Jiahua in first-tier and new first-tier cities have accounted for 47.5%, and the sales volume of top-end models of 339,900 yuan has accounted for more than 60%.
The data shows that in Kia's SUV and MPV product camp in China, the proportion of model sales with a guidance price of more than 140,000 yuan has increased from 11% to 64%.
China's automobile consumer market is a special existence in the global competition, due to the promotion of the Internet, electrification and other factors, the user's consumption concept has also undergone fundamental changes.
Joint venture brands have begun to pay attention to focusing on the Chinese market, that is, in the past 5 years, and their competition has become fierce and interesting.
Kia's remodeling process must be complicated and difficult, but from the beginning of reflection, to the development of goals that can be reached, to the implementation of the implementation, Kia has been following the rhythm of the Chinese market.
So it is very busy to say that Asia is busy, but it is also this kind of busyness that can quickly bring positive results to it.