• by Tanya Gazdik , April 4, 2022

Kia America has bought the naming rights to the Forum, an entertainment venue in Inglewood, California.

The building will now be known as the Kia Forum, and marks the first U.S. naming rights deal for the automaker.

The partnership will include outdoor and indoor signage, the installation of EV charging stations and Kia vehicle displays beginning with the Kia EV6, the automaker’s new electric vehicle. Also coming soon is the establishment of the Kia Club, an exclusive hospitality lounge.

The 17,800-seat venue, a Southern California destination for 55 years, attracts a wide variety of events, including music performances, award shows, mixed martial arts and boxing. It was the second-highest grossing arena in the U.S. for touring events and festivals in 2019, according to Billboard, trailing only Madison Square Garden.

The announcements comes on the heels of positive sales results from the automaker.

Kia America today announced March sales of 59,524 units, capping the brand’s second highest total through the first three months of the year. With 3,156 all-electric EV6 models sold in March, Kia’s electrified models notched their best-ever monthly and quarterly performances.

Additional monthly sales highlights include record monthly sales of Kia’s overall electrified model lineup, increasing by 55% over the previous record. Sales of the Niro model lineup of electrified crossovers increased by 32% over the previous monthly sales record set by the model