In line with its global commitment to become a mobility company rather than just a car manufacturer, Kia Motors in India is exploring a subscription and leasing model to meet customer needs, top executives told Mobility Outlook.
Recently appointed, Hardeep Singh Brar, National Head of Sales and Marketing, Kia India said, “Cars will remain our main forte. We are looking at mobility as a solution for the Indian market. Mobility solutions will vary from country to country depending upon what customers want. We are keeping customers at the centre.”
“If customers are looking for subscriptions or leasing instead of loans we would be exploring that. We are studying these models and looking at customer needs. The subscription model takes away a lot of the pain of maintenance and insurance of the car,” Brar said.
However, there are various challenges in the subscription and leasing model and it has to come at a certain level, he added.
In September last year, the carmaker launched first its kind initiative ‘KiaMobility’ – a dealer-led car service that allows users to rent vehicles from dealers for as low as a day or up to one year.
The service was launched in 16 locations in Italy and Russia. Kia announced that it plans to expand the service next year in other parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Digitisation Of Customer Touch Points
In the Indian context, Kia’s new slogan “Movement that inspires” represents the company's ambitious plans for leading the future mobility revolution in the country with premium products equipped with unique design and segment-first features and advanced digitised services.
Tae-Jin Park, Executive Director and Chief Sales and Business Strategy Officer, Kia India, said, “Under the new brand slogan, Kia will focus on offering meaningful experiences to the customers, especially focused on the millennials and Gen-Z – the future of the country. With Kia’s new brand identity and our refreshed portfolio, we are extremely elated to have a purpose-driven business that will elevate the customer experience not just in terms of the features and connectivity inside the cars, but the overall engagement experience with our brand.”
Further, Brar added, “Given the pandemic, customers are not really coming to the showroom for test drives or for their regular services, so we have developed an app, where you can book your service and track your Kia. Moreover, on the sales front, we are trying to digitise customer touchpoints”
To strengthen its reach, Kia is expanding its strong network to 360 touch points covering 218 cities including Tier 3 and select Tier 4 towns by the end of this year.
Product & Sales Plan
The South Korean carmaker is aiming to sell 200,000 vehicles in the ongoing fiscal. That would account for 30% higher sales compared to the 155,286 units sold in FY21.
The ambitious plan is backed by strong product launches and high customer demand for personal mobility.
While answering a media query, Brar said although this is an uncertain time, if everything goes well, the company would be able to clock 200,000 vehicle sales this year.
The company is planning to launch the refreshed variant of Seltos and Sonet early next month and also plans to enter a new segment by early next year.