At the make meeting during the NADA convention, Kia executives pledged to ramp up marketing on the Sedona minivan, said Benny Yount, chairman of Kia's dealer council. The move comes as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles prepares to discontinue the long-standing Dodge Caravan and retire the Chrysler Town & Country to make way for the new Chrysler Pacifica.
"That'll be good stuff," said Yount, owner of Paramount Automotive Group in Hickory, N.C., of Kia's Sedona plans. "It's just to bring more awareness to that model."
The Sedona, despite critical acclaim since a 2014 redesign, is being outsold 3-to-1 by the Caravan and Town & Country, as well as the segment leader, the Toyota Sienna. Kia sold 10,231 Sedonas this year through March, up 33 percent from a year earlier.
During the meeting, Kia showed new commercials by ad agency David & Goliath for the redesigned Sportage compact crossover, which went on sale this year.
Executives also highlighted the brand's surge in quality rankings. Kia finished No. 2 in 2015 on J.D. Power's closely watched Initial Quality Study, behind Porsche. Executives have set a goal of climbing to No. 1.
The gains for Kia, which has long suffered from a poor reputation with Americans who remember its origins as a bargain brand, are starting to attract customers who otherwise shop Honda and Toyota, said Dan Johnson, president of Metro Kia in Cartersville, Ga., and a former general manager of a Toyota store.
Source
No comments:
Post a Comment