Editors Note: This story ran in a previous edition.
Say goodbye to the Kia Forte and hello to the new K4 compact sedan.
The name change is the next step in Kia’s total transformation, says Eric Watson, vice president, sales operations, Kia America.
Sedans are still alive and thriving, he says, making up 18% of the U.S. new car market, nearly 3 million annually.
This car has a shocking number of amenities for the price, which starts at $21,990. Only eight new vehicles start under $22,000. The current average transaction price is almost $49,000.
The tech available in this car rivals that in the luxury segment. A new Generative AI-based Voice Assistant (activated by saying “Hey Kia”) is free for three years when a buyer activates Kia Connect. After the end of the trial, customers can subscribe for $19.99 monthly or $199 annually.
This isn’t your average chatbot. Besides allowing voice-control access to functions like climate control and audio, Kia is working to enhance the Kia Assistant’s functionality with the power of generative AI to be able to provide information on many topics, such as stocks, sports scores, owner’s manual content, local points of interest and much more.
The Kia Assistant is designed to listen for follow-up questions and to interact with the driver in a more conversational way, sophisticated enough to engage in a fun game of 20 questions and answer questions just like Apple’s Siri or Google Home.
Other luxury-like features of the vehicle include targeted class-leading cabin quietness with available acoustic windshield, premium Harman Kardon audio and heated and ventilated front seats with driver’s memory.
Marketing for the vehicle kicked off in October and is now entering phase two, says Russell Wager, vice president, marketing, Kia America,.
The target customer is “looking for something with great design tech, but they're still looking for that practical price at the end of the day,” Wager says. The focus is Gen Y and Z customers including a very multicultural audience.
“There's a lot of elements within the car, but one of the key things right off the bat is, it has definitely been designed to stand apart from its competition,” he says.
Kia partnered with TikTok to allow users to build their own Kia K4 on TikTok. Several TikTok users videos show off features of the configurator including Alain Bus, Hallie Tut and SirWrender.