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Kia’s Turn

Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc. is Orange County’s other thriving auto company.

Kia, part of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and sister company to Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America, saw December sales rise 44% from a year earlier to 21,048 vehicles.

For all of 2009—a dismal year for automakers—Kia sold 300,063 autos, a 9.8% rise from 2008. Its U.S. market share doubled last year to 3.1%.

Kia’s performance was overshadowed only by, well, bigger sibling Hyundai. It saw a 40% gain in December sales to 33,797 vehicles, or about 60% more than Kia sold.

For 2009, Hyundai sold 435,064 autos, up 8%.

Hyundai made a big splash last year with Super Bowl and Academy Awards commercials and a program that allowed buyers to return vehicles if they lost their jobs or income.

Now Kia is looking to make a splash of its own.

The company is starting a big marketing push for its Sorento crossover sports utility vehicle this year.

“The Sorento launch will be the biggest launch and most expensive ad spend for any car we have ever introduced,” said Tim Chaney, director of marketing and communications at Kia. “It makes our financial folks very nervous.”

Kia isn’t saying how much it’s spending for the Sorento campaign. Sources expect the automaker to spend about $80 million.

That would be nearly twice what Kia spent on past major vehicle launches, including for the funky Soul crossover vehicle and Forte sedan.

The Sorento campaign also will be Kia’s largest in scope with sports marketing, a sign in Times Square and lots of TV commercials, according to officials.

“It will be from a marketing standpoint the largest investment we’ve ever made,” said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing for Kia.

Like Hyundai, Kia is stepping up its marketing to go after opportunities once out of reach for the automaker, which came to the U.S. in 1992.

Kia spent about $282 million on marketing in 2009, up 30% from a year earlier. Many of its rivals kept marketing spending flat or spent less.

With the Sorento, Kia is looking to compete with Ford Motor Co.’s Edge, Mazda Motor Corp.’s CX-7, Honda Motor Co.’s CRV and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Rav4.

The Sorento is expected to sell for $20,000 to more than $30,000, starting this month.

Kia plans to keep hammering away with its marketing for the Sorento, unlike last year’s launches of the Soul, Forte and Forte Koup, a two-door coupe.

“With the previous three, it was basically launch and jump to the next vehicle,” Sprague said.

The push for the Sorento started this month with plans for nearly five months of network and cable TV commercials and nearly a year of print ads, versus a usual four to six months worth for Kia.

“The great majority of our message in the first five to six months will be the Sorento,” Chaney said.

Kia plans to use its sponsorship deal with the National Basketball Association to tout the Sorento, he said.

“We’re going to really blow this out and leverage the official vehicle of the NBA for the rest of the season,” Chaney said.

For the first time, Kia has a sign in Times Square, after taking space abandoned by General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet brand.

The giant Sorento ad was visible to viewers watching the ball drop on New Year’s Eve.

“We consider it almost a global buy,” Chaney said.

Kia also has a commercial running before movies in theaters that focuses on its Georgia plant where the Sorento is made.

The plant, which opened last year, affords Kia “made in the USA” bragging rights.

The Sorento started rolling out of the $1 billion assembly plant in West Point, Ga., late last year.

Kia hired more than 1,200 workers for the plant and plans to add another 1,250 down the road.

The automaker said it has seen a strong response from dealers. They started placing Sorento orders when the company held its dealer meeting back in October at the plant, according to Chaney.

“Our field staff literally starting collecting wholesale orders for thousands of cars on the spot,” he said.

Kia is focused on selling the Sorento to young families and professionals who aren’t looking for off-road capabilities.

“We know we’re attracting new customers to our showrooms who would have never considered Kia before,” Chaney said.

Kia plans more new models this year, including the next generation Optima sedan.

“By the end of 2011, 65% to 75% of what we sell will be brand new,” said Tom Loveless, vice president of sales.

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