This year will be small for Kia,
and the timing probably couldn't be better. The automaker, whose U.S. operations are in Irvine, Calif., unveiled its smallest car -- the redesigned Rio -- at the New York auto show two weeks ago,
along with a refreshed version of its Soul compact crossover.
Michael Sprague, VP marketing at the company, said small cars will be big this year as gas prices are already over $4 a
gallon and unlikely to head down anytime soon. But he says people have come to expect big features even in the smallest cars. "Consumers are taking another look at this segment, but in terms of
wanting stuff they have come to expect in other vehicles, they don't want to give anything up."
He says that for the new version of the Rio, Kia added safety and quality -- features that are
seen normally on higher-end vehicles -- such as push-button start, Bluetooth, optional satellite radio, a sunroof and Kia's UVO telematics and connectivity program it unveiled at the Consumer
Electronics Show last year.
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The new car, which Sprague says will likely get in the neighborhood of 40 mpg, is a bit longer and wider, and a tad lower than the previous-generation vehicle. The
car, which will hit American dealerships late this summer, was designed by the automaker's design director Peter Schreyer, who has added Kia cues now found in other Kia vehicles like the new Optima
including the so-called tiger-nose grill and wraparound headlamps.
Meanwhile, says Sprague, the Soul accounted for over 10,000 unit sales in March -- the first time the vehicle topped 10,000
in a month, he says. "It's a vehicle that initially came out as a niche product that has moved beyond and is almost a mainstream competitor in the compact segment." The marketing has helped. The
hamster commercial -- "This or That" via AOR David & Goliath -- has won numerous awards, and the company even launched a clothing line, (Hamstar).
Sprague says the Soul has almost become a
sub-brand for Kia, which is a blessing and a curse since, its success doesn't necessarily mean consumers associate it with the company that makes it. He says he will tweak marketing to make a
connection between the two. "People know it as Soul, but I want it to be known as Kia Soul, and to do that I need that an overarching brand and nameplate linkage," he says.
The company will
launch a heavy digital and social media campaign later this summer for the Rio, which comes both as a five-door and a sedan. He says Kia is forecasting that, with the returning popularity of hatchback
vehicles, the sales mix will be 50/50 sedan and hatch.