IVIEW_Kia_FW_Jan22.qxp 02/02/2022 14:04 Page 1
In conversation
ON THE UP
Kia is carrying over sales momentum from 2021 – and with some important model launches planned – John Hargreaves and Steve Hicks tell FW why there are many reasons to be positive in 2022
K
ia is in uncharted territory but, fortunately, it’s in a very good way. One of the most talked about cars of 2021 was the EV6 – a vehicle that was voted (in Germany, at least) car of the year in the premium category. Premium has never really been a target for the Korean manufacturer. In fact, sales director, Steve Hicks and head of fleet and remarketing, John Hargreaves don’t consider that to be the case. They’ll happily take the accolade, but it’s not something that was ever the intention. As most other automotive manufacturers found, 2021 was, as Hicks describes, ‘a rollercoaster’. Problems surrounding supply, going in and out of lockdown and continuing issues such as semiconductor shortages meant it was very difficult to predict which way to turn. But, helped by the launch of the EV6, Kia’s market share reached close to 6%, up from 2.8% a decade ago. Sales in 2021 were split roughly 60:40 in favour of fleet, with around 50,000 vehicles going to businesses. With more BiK-friendly electric vehicles set to arrive (depending on supply!) in 2022, the Kia UK team has its sights set on hitting 95,000 units across the two disciplines. “The biggest challenge for next year is communicating our delivery schedules to our customers,” says Hicks. “Fortunately, we’ve got a really strong product range and a good relationship with our dealer network – and also our fleet customers, which helps.” How are you approaching 2022 and helping fleets transition to EVs? John Hargreaves: We still have a good range of diesels, petrols and plug-in hybrids, so we’re not trying to force people down that road. But the TCO argument is starting to become a lot more relevant, which is helping fleets focus on what’s important. We’re not, certainly not financially, supporting EVs to get people to change. Instead, we are speaking to customers and if they want
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to drive the cars, we are facilitating that process. We are also finding out that, for some fleets, EV might not be right for the whole fleet. It’s almost like being an expert advisor and not pushing one power source or another. What has been the reaction from fleet customers to the EV6? Steve Hicks: What we find really interesting is that a lot of the customers are really genned up on EVs. A couple of years ago that wasn’t the case, but now, with a number of products out there, most of our customers are fully aware of what they want, what the benefits are and how EVs fit into their fleet. Our job is to guide and help that journey, rather than four or five years ago
would take a bigger push from us to convince them about EVs. But it hasn’t – it’s very much drivers and customers choosing their vehicles. JH: I think with e-Niro, it was largely down to the driving range – getting 280 miles was important. And it is a realistic range, rather than just a stated one, which made a big difference. As soon as we got the message across that e-Niro was a 280-mile car in real-world usage, people began to realise they could use it. It was the same with the Soul, when that launched. What’s the plan to manage the semiconductor shortage issue? SH: Our colleagues in Korea have done an amazing job. In the short term, our
CONQUEST 90% of EV6 drivers were new to the Kia brand
when we were working much harder to tell people about the opportunities that EVs present. In general, most of our customers are aware of the benefits and the direction of travel. For example, next year the e-Niro is going to sell more than every other Kia model, apart from the Sportage. Are you surprised by the success of e-Niro and EV6? SH: I’m more surprised – and delighted – by the speed of change, because I genuinely thought for many drivers it
factories have already confirmed the continued supply of semiconductors. We’re quite comfortable, but there are elements that we can’t control. Therefore, we’re looking at simplifying some of our ranges – some parts that we can’t guarantee arriving we don’t buy or put them in our vehicles, for example. Ultimately, having an ethos of not allowing failure and controlling the situation ourselves will be a strength for us going forwards, too. JH: I think the production of locally produced semiconductors has been
