Launching the redesigned cee’d Sportswagon, the load-lugging variant formerly known as the SW, Kia UK managing director Michael Cole is as bullish as he was at the hatchback launch back in April. Even more so, in fact.
Fleet sales – including UK company car ‘user choosers’ – are on the up hence the diesel-only station wagon line for a market where the body type is still often quaintly referred to as ‘estate car’. Cole sees the Sportwagon taking up to 50% of sales; the cee’d line is good for 15,000 units a year.
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Historically, the much more utilitarian looking outgoing SW was 90% diesel and 70% fleet – “we have a very heavy diesel fleet business”, observed Cole. The Sportage SUV in 1.7-litre diesel form is also a popular fleet ‘user chooser’ selection.
Cole said there is a Europe-wide trend to wagons [this surely helped by the stylish segment-leading GM Europe Astra and Ford Focus which the revamped Kia matches for good looks], and they are now seen as an “aspirational” body variant, Audi Avant style.
The new model is “quite different” from its SW predecessor which was a “very functional” design and is much more stylish with unique rear doors for flowing lines.
The cee’d has boosted Kia UK’s fortunes – when the original line launched the brand was doing under 30,000 units a year in a 2.3m market; this year it should hit 65k in a market just under 2m.
“We’ve doubled volume in four years and aspire to continue our growth with more new products to come,” said Cole.
Cole said Kia’s share of the retail segment is higher than fleet – 4% and 3.5% respectively – but the volume is about the same because the UK fleet segment is larger than private buyer territory.
Though Kia is seen as a ‘retail brand’ it can’t afford not to go after fleet business which it sees as an important channel through which to move cars, Cole said.
“It’s a significant chunk of cars. If we are going to grow volume, we have to target fleet. We’re happy to increase our fleet share but we don’t want it higher than retail.”
Kia sold 41,291 units to the end of August this year, 23% up on last year’s 33,524 and Cole is shooting for a full year 24% up at 65,000. In a UK market up 3.4% [it was 3.3% to the end of August].
Next year? “A number starting with a ‘seven’ would be nice,” he said.
“Product is key,” added Cole, noting that “awareness of the brand” continues to grow and that it now has a “strong” dealer network of 173 with maybe one more in place by year end.
The new Rio (B segment) is doing well alongside the recently launched cee’d five-door hatchback, the Sportswagon just went on sale and the three-door hatch arrives in January.
Cole sees the B segment – crucial across Europe – as “a big opportunity” and promised “more growth to come”.
Demand for the Sportage, built in Slovakia like the cee’d, still exceeds demand two years after launch with Cole claiming it still “seems and feels like a new car”.
To some extent, how well Kia UK will do in 2013 depends on how much product can be wheedled out of the factories.
“But we aim to maintain our gains.”
The new seven-seat Carens MPV arrives soon and Cole is eyeing 500/600 this year and 3,000 in 2013.
The bigger Sedona (Carnival) MPV/minivan is now gone with no immediate replacement in sight. Cole reckons seven-seat SUVs have taken over part of that market as buyers see them as more stylish and he has a seven-seat Sorento to offer instead.
“Sedona was pretty small volume but it had loyal customers,” he noted.
