Retail News CRM

Tag: KIA Motors

  • Kia Motors India Issues A Recall For Seltos Diesel Over Faulty Fuel Pump

    Kia Motors India Issues A Recall For Seltos Diesel Over Faulty Fuel Pump

    Kia Motors India has issued a recall for the diesel models of the Seltos compact SUV to fix potential damage to the fuel pump. While the company is doing this a service campaign, it has notified its dealer partners to inspect the fuel pump of the diesel Seltos that come for servicing and if its damaged, the part needs to be replaced. When reached out to Kia Motors India, the company said, “The recent communication, involves inspection of fuel pump and in-case of any observation dealer is required to carry out repair/replacement as the case may be.” It’s certainly encouraging to see manufacturers take such proactive initiatives.

    Furthermore, according to a leaked service bulletin that’s circulating the internet, the affected Kia Seltos units were manufactured between October 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020. The damaged fuel pump could cause problems like excessive vibrations, poor pick-up, or in some cases, the vehicle might face a starting problem. So, Seltos owners facing similar issue should reach out to their nearest service centre and get the vehicle examined. As of now, the company is not sending out any communication to vehicle owners, but the faulty part will be replaced by the service centres free of cost.

    According to a leaked service bulletin, the damaged fuel pump could cause problems like excessive vibrations, poor pick-up, or starting problem.

    The Kia Seltos diesel is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that is tuned to produce 113 bhp and 250 Nm of peak torque. The motor comes mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and an option 6-speed automatic torque converter unit. It worth mentioning that the same engine is used in the Hyundai Verna, and the Kia Sonet, however, considering both these models were launch after March 2020, they are not likely to be affected by this problem.

    Lees ook:

  • Kia Motors begins sales of 2020 edition of Sorento SUV

    Kia Motors begins sales of 2020 edition of Sorento SUV

    Kia Motors announced Monday it has begun rolling out the 2020 model of its Sorento sport-utility vehicle (SUV) for sale. The updated Sorento comes with new safety features applied to all of its diesel trims and a refreshed design. The diesel version of the compact crossover SUV will have smart safety features, such as lane keep assist, lane departure warning, driver attention warning and others on all of its trims.

    As for design, the automaker said it applied a newly designed dark chrome grille on all of its models, with the highest trim model installed with 19-inch chrome alloy wheels.

    The new model also comes with a new premium trim called “master special,” which features more options, such as rear occupant alert and a head-up display.

    The SUV comes in diesel and gasoline models, with the base diesel model starting at 27.88 million won ($25,000).

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Kia Motors Niro wins Car of the Year from U.K. magazine

    Kia Motors Niro wins Car of the Year from U.K. magazine

    Kia Motors said Thursday its Niro electric vehicle has won British consumer magazine and website What Car?’s Car of the Year Award. Kia said the model received high scores for its long range and reasonable price. The Niro also won the Electric Car of the Year.

    This year’s What Car? awards were given to 25 models in various categories.

    Kia and its larger affiliate Hyundai Motor have won a total of nine What Car? awards this year, the companies said in a statement.

    Kia’s Picanto was named the best City Car of the Year, with its Cee’d compact winning the best Family Car for less than ￡20,000. Kia’s Stinger fastback sports sedan received the best Performance Car for less than ￡50,000. Hyundai said its Ioniq passenger car was given the Hybrid Car of the Year Award.

    Lees ook:

  • Korean SUV sales soar globally

    Korean SUV sales soar globally

    SUVs have recently grabbed the spotlight in Korea, breaking both local and export sales records. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), the number of exported SUVs by five local automakers reached a new record of 1.38 million units in 2018, a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year. In just 17 years, the figure rose by 700 percent – exports recorded merely 196,111 units in 2000.

    Over the same period, overall exports of passenger vehicles declined 3.1 percent to 2.34 million units. The share of SUVs also reached an all-time high.

    Compact SUVs from Korea were most popular in export markets.

    GM Korea’s Chevrolet Trax was shipped the most, at 239,800 units, followed by Hyundai Motor’s Tucson at 228,461 units.

    Small-sized SUVs also performed well, with 202,779 units of Hyundai Motor’s subcompact SUV Kona shipped abroad, a 437 percent rise from the previous year.

    Kia Motors’ Stonic exported 58,989 units, increasing 75.8 percent from 2017.

    Much of the enthusiasm surrounding SUVs in markets abroad was also present in the local market.

    Last year, 519,883 SUVs were sold in Korea, passing the 500,000 unit mark for the first time.

    With a 12.7 percent rise from 2017 sales figures of 461,385 units, SUVs currently take up a 40.1 percent share in the overall passenger car sales figures.

    Meanwhile, passenger car sales, excluding SUVs, dropped 6.9 percent last year from the previous year.

    Hyundai Motor’s mid-sized SUV, the Santa Fe, was the most popular in Korea, selling 107,202 units. This was the first time that an SUV model recorded an annual sales figure over 100,000 units.

    The SUV market is expected to grow this year.

    As compact and small-sized SUVs are poised to lead exports and medium and small-sized SUVs the local market, large-sized SUVs are also being rolled out this year.

    Hyundai Motor’s Palisade, unveiled last November, recorded over 25,000 preorders in just three weeks, hitting 62.5 percent of the automaker’s annual sales target of 40,000 units for the model.

    It will likely take customers around seven months to receive the vehicle if ordered now.

    According to Hyundai Motor, the large-sized SUV is popular among older drivers. Customers in their 40s accounted for 37 percent of orders and those in their 50s made up 26.9 percent.

    “As high-quality amenities and vehicle stability that used to be developed through sedans is now applied to SUVs, there was quite a bit of progress,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University.

    “This year’s SUV sales and market share will grow as local and foreign SUVs have adopted the advantages of sedans,” added Kim.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • SUVs are selling more in Korea

    SUVs are selling more in Korea

    Korea’s domestic car market moved in two different directions this year. The rising popularity of large sedans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) stood in sharp contrast to weaker demand for smaller vehicles, industry data showed Sunday. In the January-November period, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor sold a combined 698,326 units, up 0.3 percent from 696,403 cars sold a year earlier, the data showed.

    Demand for medium SUVs, such as Hyundai’s all new Santa Fe, reached 207,269 units, up a sharp 29.5 percent from the same 11 months in 2017.

    The total so far is expected to push medium-sized SUVs to become the country’s top-selling vehicle type on an annual basis in 2018. This will mark the first time such crossovers have taken the top spot in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where car buyers generally tended to favor mid- to large-size sedans.

    In regard to larger crossovers, the popularity of SsangYong’s G4 Rexton caused sales of such cars to jump 12.9 percent on year to 46,734 units, further pushing up overall SUV numbers.

    Industry watchers said the release of Hyundai’s three-row Palisade and a longer version of SsangYong’s G4 will further fuel sales going into 2019, with numbers likely to get a further boost once Kia releases its own large SUV that is expected to get the Telluride name.

    Besides SUVs, sales of large sedans, centered on Kia’s K9 luxury sedan, caused total numbers to rise a respectable 5.7 percent to 52,945 units up till November despite drop in demand for Hyundai’s luxury Genesis EQ900 falling off compared to the year before.

    On the other hand, sales of midsize and smaller vehicles dipped 0.9 percent on year to 481,542 units, with demand for small city cars dropping 7.5 percent to 115,647 units.

    “Vehicles like the Sante Fe clearly bolstered demand this year, with this trend likely to continue with the release of the Palisade and new versions of the G90 and G80 to further contribute to sales growth for bigger cars going into 2019,” an industry source said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Kia’s sporty K3 GT balances speed and safety

    Kia’s sporty K3 GT balances speed and safety

    Kia Motors’ compact K3 GT hatchback stays true to its GT moniker with its impressive driving experience, but sacrifices comfort in search of a sportier style. Across an 80 km (50 mile) drive from Namyangju to Paju in Gyeonggi on Nov. 22, the K3 GT zipped across a course that mostly covered highways.

    Its driving performance was a far cry from the original commuter version as the vehicle’s acceleration responded instantaneously thanks to its 1.6 liter turbocharged engine. The GT responded to even the slightest pressure on the pedal, zooming to 180 kilometers per hour (112 miles per hour) with ease. Along with fast acceleration, the K3 GT rumbled when accelerating as the car’s electronic sound generator (ESG) added to the real sound from its new tuned dual mufflers, similar to the ESG included in Kia’s sports sedan, the Stinger.

    Petrol heads will also appreciate the sporty D-cut steering wheel on the front-wheel drive, which produced accurate steering as the vehicle entered and exited corners and a natural feel when switching lanes.

    While the fast GT may please driving enthusiasts with its performance, it doesn’t provide for the most comfortable ride.

    At high speeds of 150 km per hour, the hatchback model produced some road and tire noise that soon became distracting. The sound from the ESG and the unwanted cacophony of warning beeps from its various safety features didn’t help with the situation either.

    The vehicle also comes with tubular seats, which emphasize its racing theme and hold the driver in place during quick acceleration, but feel quite stiff on the passenger’s side.

    The interior has a clean, simple look with red stitching on the front seats that accentuates the sporty aesthetic. But the car will likely tire passengers during long-hour drives due to its tough and hardy feel.

    The sporty vehicle, however, maintains a competitive edge in safety as it comes loaded with a variety of smart features including forward collision warning and lane keeping assist in all its trims.

    While the various beeps that come in a range of pitches may be obtrusive, the lane keeping and changing features worked perfectly during the drive, as the steering wheel shifted on its own to steady the vehicle and issued alerts whenever a car was nearby when switching lanes.

    As for its exterior, the GT is a familiar offshoot of the original K3. It retains much of the original front design, but adds a touch of flair with subtle red accents in its signature Kia tiger-nose grille and 18-inch alloy wheels with an option of Michelin summer tires.

    The vehicle also keeps in touch with the utilitarian side of the original model, marking a return to foldable back seats that provide spacious room for storage.

    The original K3 has sold 37,125 units in the domestic market until October this year, 63 percent more than during the same period last year. The GT, offered either as a sedan or a hatchback, adds a sporty edge to Kia’s compact lineup, competing with Hyundai Motor’s high-performance offerings, such as the Avante Sport and the hatchback i30 N Line.

    “The K3 GT incorporates a powerful engine and technology optimized for high-speed driving to strengthen the driving performance,” said Kwon Hyug-ho, head of domestic sales at Kia Motors.

    The K3 GT starts at 19.93 million won ($17,800) and the entry hatchback version at 22.24 million won, compared to the 15.71 million won entry version of the 2019 K3 model.

    The competitive pricing puts pressure on Hyundai’s Avante Sport, which starts at 19.64 million won and the i30 N Line at 23.79 million won.

    Lees ook:

  • Kia swings to profit in third quarter after 2017 one-off

    Kia swings to profit in third quarter after 2017 one-off

    Kia Motors Friday reported a swing to profit in the third quarter from a loss a year earlier. For the three months ending Sept. 30, Kia posted a net profit of 297.74 billion won ($262 million) from a net loss of 291.77 billion won a year ago, the company said in a statement.

    “In the third quarter of 2017, a one-off cost of 864.1 billion won was reflected in the bottom line when a local court ordered the company to retroactively make an overdue payment to employees,” a company spokesman said.

    According to the court ruling issued in August last year, regular bonuses are to be included in the “ordinary wage” used as the basis for calculating overtime, severance and other payments.

    The won’s strength against the dollar and currencies in emerging markets also weighed on the quarterly net results, the company said.

    Kia reported an operating profit of 117.28 billion won in the third quarter from an operating loss of 427.02 billion won a year earlier. Sales fell 0.24 percent to 14.074 trillion won from 14.108 trillion won over the same period, it said.

  • Qualtrics Expands XM Solutions Capabilities To Help Organisations Close Experience Gaps Faster

    Qualtrics Expands XM Solutions Capabilities To Help Organisations Close Experience Gaps Faster

    Qualtrics, the leader in experience management, announced the expansion of XM Solutions to help customers close experience gaps and harness the power of the world’s leading Experience Management (XM) Platform™. There are now over 45 expert-built solutions spanning automated projects, guided programmes and full-service research, designed by industry and research experts to accelerate customer experience, employee experience, and market research.

    For years, organisations have struggled to quickly set up experience management and market research programmes, while ensuring programmes were best-in-class. With XM Solutions, Qualtrics’ team of PhDs and industry experts have created solutions to help customers quickly and confidently launch their programmes and drive business outcomes. Solutions include both guided programmes – designed to accelerate customer experience and employee experience programmes with pre-configured surveys, expert-validated methods, and dashboards tailored to your business – as well as automated projects for quick-turn research projects that yield near-immediate results.

    “XM Solutions will improve the speed and accuracy with which organisations can launch their experience management programmes,” said Ryan Smith, co-founder and CEO of Qualtrics. “Our team of experts have designed packaged solutions that leverage the learnings from thousands of customer experience, employee engagement and research programmes running on the Qualtrics platform. This will help any organization–large or small–jumpstart its experience management and research programmes, and make it easy to scale those programmes to fit the organisation’s needs.”

    Leveraging XM Solutions, customers can more quickly and confidently conduct comprehensive customer, employee, product and brand research in a fraction of the time. From pricing, to customer NPS, to brand awareness studies, XM solutions delivers fast results with automated setup, streamlined distribution, and smart analysis for research of all sizes.

    “XM Solutions have made it possible to simultaneously enhance our suite of research capabilities and reduce costs,” said Andrew Mun, Consumer Intelligence Manager at Kia Motors America. “These out-of-the-box solutions have changed the way Kia conducts research and improved our speed to insights. In a highly competitive industry, that means the difference between success and failure.”

    Lees ook: