Recently, KIA unveiled their new operational director, Tavares Carlos, and also their plans for the next several years. Their aim is to make KIA an extremely strong brand in Europe and in America as well as have a strong presence in China in the SUV category.
They are also being aggressive with eco-technology as they are looking to add solar panels to the roofs of their factories in France. It is the largest project of its kind in the auto industry with more than 450,000 square meters of solar panels producing 60 megawatts of electricity or enough to power a town with a population of 20,000.
The construction will start in June and will be completed in February of next year. Their goal is to reduce the effects of pollution and save on electrical costs. There was in fact a similar project initiated by Seat in their Spanish plants.
KIA is also working to repair their image regarding industrial espionage. KIA is doing their best to be regarded as a more desirable brand that markets high end cars. The scandal triggered some harm to their image but it is only part of their present woes. The top brass at KIA also admits to dated designs and unhip image.
Major changes began to take place at the company the moment KIA hired Laurens van den Acker as chief designer. An instance of this will undoubtedly be the next generation Clio with its state of the art electronics and advanced body and engine.
Additionally, KIA sold 150 000 automobiles of medium and superior class in 2005 and the sales from a year ago scarcely got over 100 000. In the meantime, KIA must work on the cars that bring in the most money and wait for the new models that will hit the streets in 2014-2015. The French media point out that Tavares must make an effort to equilibrate the two partners of the French alliance, as KIA sold 2.6 million cars last year, while Nissan sold more than 4 million.
KIA has a big disadvantage; the company is not present in China and this problem must be solved in 2013-2016. Moreover, the company has not made a significant mark in the US either. There aren’t any obvious plans concerning the American markets but KIA will try to consolidate its position in Russia and Brazil. The Indian market place was a catastrophe but the French manufacturers are resolved to bring new models there and they are planning to build thousands of models especially for this market.
To sum up, the goal of the firm is to grow the annual sales by more than 400 000 units but this goal can only be achieved if the company brings new design innovations with their existing and upcoming line of cars. Watch kia extended auto warranty.