Kia sees strong sales ahead

KIA Motors-Cebu is expecting strong sales growth this year with the opening of its new showroom on Gorordo Ave.

Kia Motors-Cebu sales manager Noel Ting said they hope to exceed the average 130 car sales per month with their latest investment to improve customer satisfaction.

Gateway Motors Cebu, the company that operates Kia Motors-Cebu, re-launched last week its new showroom, which is patterned after Kia’s new global corporate identity.

Ting said Gateway Motors Cebu invested P20 million for the renovation of the showroom, which makes use of Kia’s global “red cube design.”

According to Ting, the new strategy is meant to boost Kia’s image as a global brand.

Kia said the new showroom exterior employs cubes to convey being trustworthy, ovals and straight lines to portray being “dynamic,” while the interior is inspired by drift line techniques to emphasize the “fun” aspect of the Kia brand.

Officials said the rebranding is meant to give customers a “comfortable, comprehensive and pleasurable shopping experience.”

Ting said the new showroom provides various customer services such as auto loan applications, renewal of car insurance and vehicle and body parts management. The showroom also houses establishments like Coffee Dream, Vienna KaffeeHaus and Neo Neo Grill House to attend to customer’s needs.

He said growth in car sales in Cebu can be attributed to the growing business process outsourcing and real estate industries.

Ting said the need for cars will grow in Cebu given the area’s changing landscape.

“We are now in a bustling city where owning a car is already a necessity,” he said.

He said growth will be coming from the middle-income market from industries like BPO
and homeowners or young professionals who are residing outside Cebu.

Ting said Kia is one of the top preferences among Cebuano car buyers not only because of its affordability but of its high quality. He said Kia is Cebu’s third top car brand next to Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Ting said Kia Cebu offers the lowest downpayment in the market and a five-year car warranty.

In the first half of this year, Ting said Kia sales in Cebu grew by 30 percent over the same period in 2011.

Some 1.6 million car units were sold globally from January to July this year, according to Seon Phil Choi, Kia Motors Corp. Asia-Pacific Region president, which represented an 11 percent sales growth over the same period in 2011.

Kia sales in the Philippines grew by 69 percent in the first seven months of the year.

Choi said the Philippines is Kia’s core strategic market in Asia given the popularity of the brand among Filipinos.

Ginia Domingo, president of Columbian Autocar Corp., the exclusive Kia distributor in the Philippines, said 20 percent of Kia’s sales in the country are through Kia Motors-Cebu.

Domingo said Kia’s strong sales growth in the country is driven by the government’s tighter measures in banning the entry of smuggled cars and the introduction of new models like the latest Rio.