In a virtual round-table meeting with the media, Kia Philippines President Manny Aligada projected that the Korean brand is poised to hit triple-digit sales growth on its way to doubling its market share in the local automotive industry this 2021.
That’s how big a rebound Kia Philippines can show in the next 12 months, after selling 2,129 units in 2020—the year in which the entire local automotive industry suffered a 40-percent decline in sales (for a yearend total of just 240,000 units sold) due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and its resulting community and business lockdowns.
Aligada’s optimism stems from Kia Philippines’ plan to “unbox” at least two new models this year, thus adding significant sales firepower to the company’s top three sellers in 2020—the Soluto subcompact sedan, the K2500 business and utility truck, and the recently launched Stonic crossover.
The Soluto held steady at the top with 39 percent of the company’s total sales, followed by the K2500 with 17 percent. The Stonic—albeit being unveiled only in the last quarter of the year, sold 200 units in December alone en route to cornering 16 percent of the volume of total deliveries. The Seltos, Sportage, Picanto, Sorento, Carnival and the rest of Kia’s roster also contributed to total sales.
Aligada also cited Kia Philippines’ shift to the digital sphere in 2020, enabling the carmaker to gain a wider audience and tap varied markets. He stressed that their efforts to go digital would intensify this year.
