Kia unveils SUVs

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

The Dwight Moore-led Kia Motors Limited introduced two of its newest SUVs on the market last Thursday - 2011 Sorento and 2011 Sportage.  The event - which was held at Kia Motors' Chelsea Avenue's headquarters and was postponed the day before due to inclement weather - went on despite the rains.

Korean Chargé d'Affaires Ki-Mo Lim said Kia and its sister company, Hyundai, would this year, produce 6.5 million vehicles to meet the growing appeal of the brands.

The chargé d'affaires recounted a situation two years prior when posted in Washington, DC when briefed on the Assurance Programme to be adopted by Hyundai and Kia executives.

He said banking on the premium quality of their brands, the company made an offer to purchasers that if they lost their jobs, the vehicles could be returned without penalty.

"I asked them: 'Are you crazy, guys?'," he recalled.

"I said look at the world economic situation and look at US job markets, and they said they were very confident in the quality."

Two years later, the innovative move paid off as only 350 vehicles were returned of all the cars sold in the US.

Anecdotal offering

And for this, the diplomat had an anecdotal offering.

"Maybe two reasons. Those who purchase Kia, they are lucky and they don't lost their jobs. Or, no matter what happens, if you once purchase Kia, you're not gonna let it (the vehicle) go."

The seven-seater Sorento offers, among its many features, remote keyless entry. It is priced at J$4.85m at full duty and J$3.346m with concession. The Sportage is J$3.564 at full duty and under J$2.7 million with concession.

Kia last month sold 120,000 vehicles in the United States to claim 10.9 per cent of the market share and third spot behind General Motors and Ford in the US market.