Details of Kia’s new brand purpose and future ambitions have been announced during a digital showcase event. Supported by a new brand slogan, ‘Movement that inspires’, Kia recently revealed new details of a strategy that will see it go beyond vehicle manufacturing to creating sustainable mobility solutions for customers.
The move signals a break away from its traditional manufacturing-driven business model, even as Kia has announced a new corporate name by removing the ‘Motors’ from its name. It seeks to expand into new and emerging business areas by creating innovative mobility products and services to improve customers’ daily lives.
Ho Sung Song, president and chief executive of Kia Corporation, comments: “At Kia, we believe that transportation, mobility, and movement represent a human right. Our vision is to create sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities, and societies globally. Today we start putting this vision into action with the launch of our new brand purpose and strategy for the future.”
The slogan, ‘Movement that inspires’, is introduced at the heart of a brand manifesto which reflects Kia’s new purpose of inspiring consumers through products and services, and their experiences with the brand.
Its purpose emphasizes that movement is at the genesis of human development and one that enables people to see new places, meet new people, and to have new experiences.
This connection is the essence of Kia’s new brand to enable human progress by providing innovative in-car spaces, exciting new products, and meaningful, convenient services that inspire customers and free up time for the activities that they enjoy the most.
Artur Martins, senior vice president and head of global brand & customer experience at Kia said “Movement has always been at the heart of our brand, and moving people at the core of our business. Movement helps humankind to constantly progress, improve, and evolve. That is why at Kia we believe that movement inspires ideas”.
Kia has been in the ‘movement’ industry for more than 75 years, and the company went on to create Korea’s first domestic bicycles and to manufacture motorcycles and delivery trucks. Today, Kia is one of the biggest automakers globally, providing high-value passenger vehicles to millions of people around the world.
Under its new brand purpose, Kia will meet changing customer expectations about how they move, and how their movement impacts the world around them. Consumers are increasingly seeking out flexible, environmentally conscious, and integrated forms of transportation.
Kia’s new brand strategy is to respond to, and shape these changing expectations by developing a range of products and services to meet customers’ needs in markets around the globe.
These will offer greater access to a wider range of environmentally conscious mobility products and services to meet growing demand from customers worldwide for flexible, customizable, individualized mobility solutions, enabled by data and new technologies.
By removing the ‘Motors’ from its name, Kia’s new corporate name shows a commitment to its long-term ‘Plan S’ business strategy. This was announced last year, and will see the brand establish a leadership position in the future mobility industry, expanding its business to encompass EVs, mobility solutions and services including purpose-built vehicles.
Alongside these efforts, Kia will simultaneously promote more sustainable production through the usage of clean energy and recyclable materials.
It is focused on popularizing battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and plans to reinforce its global product line-up with the introduction of seven new dedicated BEVs by 2027.
These new models will include a range of passenger vehicles, SUVs, and MPVs across several segments, each incorporating industry-leading technology for long-range driving and high-speed charging from Hyundai Motor Group’s new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
Kia is also developing a range of new Purpose-Built Vehicles (PBVs) for corporate customers. These specialized vehicles will be based on flexible ‘skateboard’ platforms, with modular bodies designed to meet the specific mobility needs of a broad range of corporate and fleet customers.
