|
Kia Executive Q&A
|
| Peter Butterfield, President and CEO, Kia Motors America |
|
| Updated |
Jun 10, 2004 22:52:43 |
| Rating |
 118 ( -13 -11.01% ) | | Author | Tara Baukus Mello |
|
|
Description:
Kia Q & A
Related Links
Get Pricing
Get E-mail Updates
Consumer Ratings
Vehicle Reviews
Send a Letter
Talk About It
Kia Q & A. 2004 Kia Optima.
Kia Q & A. 2004 Kia Rio.
Related Links
Get Pricing
Get E-mail Updates
Consumer Ratings
Vehicle Reviews
Send a Letter
Talk About It
Kia Q & A. 2004 Kia Rio Cinco.
Kia Q & A. 2004 Kia Sedona.
Related Links
Get Pricing
Get E-mail Updates
Consumer Ratings
Vehicle Reviews
Send a Letter
Talk About It
Kia Q & A. 2004 Kia Sorento.
Kia Q & A. 2004 Kia Spectra.
It's only been 10 years since Kia sold its first vehicle in the United States, but this South Korean automaker has proved itself as a force to be reckoned with. In 2003, it sold more vehicles than Acura, Infiniti and Volvo, among others. 2003 sales were up 27 percent from the prior year and are continuing to climb thus far in 2004, as Kia introduces several new and redesigned models.
Peter Butterfield, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kia Motors America joined the company in 2001 as executive vice president and was given the additional role as the company's Chief Operating Officer a short time later. He was promoted to his current role in January 2003. During his tenure, he has led the company through two years of record sales as well as has overseen the launch of several new or redesigned vehicles. An Illinois native, Peter began his career at Ford, Immediately prior to joining Kia, he was a vice president at Volvo.
Tara Baukus Mello caught up with Peter to discuss what Kia has done over the last 10 years and what its plans are for the future.
Q: Kia is celebrating its 10th anniversary of sales in the U.S., which makes it the newest of the major automakers. We've seen quite an evolution in that time. Are you trying to follow in the footsteps of what the Japanese automakers did all those years ago?
A: I've often said that we are grade school kids competing against MBA students. While this company is very young, we'll end this year with nearly $5 billion in revenue. That said we are not so proud that we don't learn from history. We've looked at every company that has tried to come into the U.S. since 1950 and analyzed why they succeed or failed so we can learn from it.
Q: What companies stood out?
A: The two companies that stood out in terms of being business models are Honda and Toyota. We are attempting to patterns ourselves on those business models, with our own unique vehicles, of course.
Q: The marketplace is quite crowded in terms of vehicles and automakers now versus back when Honda and Toyota were breaking into the U.S. market. What is going to ensure you are successful?
A: About three years ago we made the decision to have the Kia brand stand for three things---value, quality and safety. We feel that these characteristics, along with the right people, products and dealers, will keep us successful.
Q: One of the most recent products you've introduced is the new Amanti large sedan. This is a new segment for Kia. Who are you aiming at in terms of buyers?
A: People like me. Professionals who are 45 to 55 years old. Baby Boomers. We think that there's an opportunity to reach out to this group, who typically doesn't want to be driving a large domestic car. Many of these people want the space of a large sedan, but they don't want the image of being retired.
Q: So what vehicles are you considering competitors?
A: Primarily the Toyota Avalon, the Buick Park Avenue and the Ford Crown Victoria.
Q: Over these 10 years, you've marketed primarily to a younger crowd that was looking for an inexpensive vehicle. The Baby Boomer group is a very different market than that. What is it about the Kia Amanti that appeals to them?
A: The car exhibits the three attributes that define our brand-value, quality and safety-but something else interesting happened. Customers and the automotive press described Amanti as a luxury car. We specifically avoided calling it that. It's a great example of how fast the image of brands are shifting when you can take a brand like Kia that has not been perceived as a luxury brand and describe one of its cars as a luxury car.
Q: I understand that you even created a marketing campaign for the Amanti to change the definition of the term "Baby Boomer." What were you hoping to change it to and were you successful?
A: What we wanted to do was to get across the idea, in a tongue-in-cheek way, that just because you are in the Baby Boomer generation it doesn't mean you are old. (The term) has a connotation of an older, sedentary lifestyle and that's not true of many people that age. As part of the campaign, we collected 12,000 signatures of Baby Boomers and delivered the petition to Merriam-Webster dictionary people. They have it in their review process now.
Q: One of the core groups that you have targeted from the beginning is 18-24 year-olds. What are you currently doing to reach out to this group of buyers?
A: Kia has always had a young demographic; in fact it was the youngest in the industry up until recently. To be honest, we had this young group of buyers because we offered a car that was basic transportation; it wasn't because they really wanted one. So we set an objective to make Kia cool, by aligning with other brands that this age group thinks are cool. Now we are attracting a group who see Kia as something that fits their image of themselves.
Q: Can you give me an example of one of these promotions?
A: We currently have a partnership with the band Sugar Ray to sponsor their tour and a reality TV show in conjunction with it as a way to promote the four-door Spectra and the Spectra 5.
Q: What's the scoop on the TV show?
A: It is a six-part series that will air on Spike TV beginning June 19. It features a group of kids that are competing to win a job at Atlantic Records. The winner gets the job as well as a new Spectra. Our role is to promote Kia in a subtle way; we don't want to be shouting out our name to the viewers.
Q: Speaking of the Spectra, you just introduced the redesigned model in March. It's larger overall and has more horsepower than its predecessor. Why were these changes important in the redesign?
A: Our market research showed that the car was underpowered. Every segment is moving up in terms of horsepower and size. With the redesigned model, we have the highest-powered base-model engine in the segment with 138 horsepower as well as the most interior space of all the vehicles in its class and even some of the vehicles in the next segment up.
Q: Scion, Toyota's newest brand, is also reaching out to this group of younger buyers in a big way. Do you feel it is a strong competitor in this segment?
A: I consider everyone a strong competitor. It is a tough market out there. Kia is, however, much more known than the Scion brand, so we have a solid platform to work off of.
Q: You've started exploring accessorized vehicles and displayed a customized Spectra at the SEMA Show last year. Are we going to start seeing factory accessories anytime soon?
A: We have a whole project underway and the Spectra 5 is a product of that. We incorporated many of the features from the SEMA car into the package that is standard on the Spectra 5.
Q: One of the brand attributes you mentioned earlier was safety. What are you doing currently on that front?
A: We decided a few years ago to build all of our vehicles to NHTSA's five-star crash test safety ratings. Both the Sedona minivan and the Sorrento SUV have gotten five stars. The Amanti hasn't been rated yet, but we are expecting the top rating. Now we are focusing on side airbags as standard equipment. No one in the compact segment offers this.
Q: Kia showed the Mojave, a concept pickup, at the Chicago Auto Show and was soliciting consumers' opinions. What feedback have you gotten?
A: It's been extremely positive from both consumers as well as from the automotive press.
Q: Might we see a version of it in Kia's product line in the future?
A: It is currently under consideration, but no decision has been made. If we do move forward with a pickup, we would need to build a factory within North America to produce it first.
Q: There was another interesting concept called Slice, which was a small, tall car, sort-of like the Toyota Matrix. Are there any plans to produce that?
A: It's also been received well. We have it on tour in Europe right now to get more feedback before we can even think about making a decision.
Q: You stopped selling the Sportage last year, when it was one of your biggest sellers. Yet the new model won't be out until the 2005 model year. Why?
A: When Hyundai purchased us in 1999, the products from the two companies had to be aligned. There were so many new vehicles being introduced that we couldn't align them all. Because we launched other vehicles, we were able to make up the sales we lost from the Sportage.
Q: Can you tell us about the new Sportage?
A: It goes into production this October and will arrive late in the year.
Q: What else will we see in terms of new or redesigned vehicles from Kia?
A: Also for 2005 we'll launch an all-new Rio that will be in the same price segment as today, as well as a new Optima and Sedona. That will be four new products between now and Spring 2005. We are a company that is definitely on the move.
---Story by By Tara Baukus Mello
---Photos courtesy of Kia
© 2004, Tara Baukus Mello, All Rights Reserved. |
| Similar news: | - U.S. Parts Makers Prefer Honda, Toyota - U.S. auto parts makers are shiftingtheir loyalties to Japanese automakers and away from thedomestic Big Three as relationships with Detroit steadilydeteriorate, according to a new study.
- Toyota ships transmission units from B'lore - Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Corporation has started exporting transmission equipment, manufactured at its dedicated plant set up under Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP), to seven plants across the world.
- Toyota plant boosts India's booming auto parts industry - Toyota Motor Corp, the world's second-biggest car seller, formally opened a fourth gearbox plant in India on Tuesday -- bringing India's near $7 billion auto parts industry closer to global markets.
| | Find all news similar on Kia Executive Q&A |
|
