How Soul could make Kia a top ten hit
Kia's new Soul supermini, on sale in the UK from February, will boost the company's 2009 sales to around 33,000, a respectable increase from the 31,500 it will sell this year, says managing director Paul Philpott.
Total Kia sales this year will be up about seven per cent on the 29,400 cars sold in 2007 - and it could have been more if supply of Picanto and Rio hadn't been restricted. Market share has grown from 1.25 per cent last year to 1.5 per cent this and Philpott is targeting a three per cent share of the retail market by 2012 which would put Kia among the top ten brands.
His aspirations will be helped by cars like the Soul which will sell around 5,000 in a full year; an MPV derivative is also in the pipeline. "Supply and stock management of the car will be important. I want to create demand," he says.
Prices will be announced next month but Philpott suggests the Soul, available with 1.6 litre petrol or diesel engine, will sell for somewhere between "under 11,000 and up to 14,000."
It's closest rival at the moment is the Suzuki SX4 and Philpott reckons the Korean-built Soul will have a fairly clear run until Nissan debuts the Cube towards the end of 09 and Toyota's Urban Cruiser arrives after that, along with a flurry of other rivals.
Soul becomes the ninth car in the Kia UK line-up and Philpott says the excitement around the car is helping attract new dealers to the network and makes him confident enough to maintain his 15 million advertising budget in 2009.
With the cost of advertising expected to fall by as much as six per cent according to some industry estimates, not cutting the budget will actually boost Kia's spending power.
Philpott is being optimistic about next year and reckons a total UK market of around 1.9 million is still possible. "It will be somewhere between 1.8 and 1.9 million," is his estimate.
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[I]Soul man: Paul Philpott is bullish about Kia's prospects which are boosted by the new Soul[/I]
Credits: JRC
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