Kia Philippines plans to revisit a plan to set up manufacturing operations in the Philippines to provide competition to local vehicle producers
Kia president Manny Aligada said manufacturing was part of the long term plan of the brand to expand its footprint in the Philippines.
“Manufacturing is an intention but we have not yet firmed up the plans for it,” he said.
He added the company would strengthen its partnership with brands and talk financial partners,
“They must also get the same level of confidence with our brand,” Aligada said.
The car company is preparing a grand relaunch of the brand on January 30, 2019, after AC Automotive Inc. of conglomerate Ayala Corp. took over the distributorship.
The Kia management will keep introducing the brand to a business partnership through dealer networks.
“Expand dealer network in relevant areas nationwide. Improve facilities aligned with global brand standards. We will also work to apply new concepts, incorporate digital capacity as well as introduce next generation platforms,” Aligada said.
Kia currently has a stable dealership network of 37 networks, including 10 in Metro Manila.
To further build representations with fleet accounts, the brand will bring in the appropriate vehicles. Kia has a nine model line-up, which is present in significant segments of the sector. It plans to introduce three more models in 2019.
The company plans to sell as much as 10,000 units of Kia sedan and SUVs in 2019.
The company will bring in pick-up models, vans, trucks and buses to fill up the commercial segment.
Aligada said Kia sales and market had eroded in the last four years, although sales peaked to 10,000 units in 2015 while market share rose to 4 percent.
The market shared dipped to 0.6 percent in 2007 with sales of 2,400 units.