Kia Motors’ U.S. sales chief Michael Sprague
미국 출시 1년을 맞이하는 기아 K9(현지명 K900)이 아직까지 존재감이 미미한 상황이다. 회사는 연간 5,000대라는 목표를 발표했었지만 지난 10월까지 약 1,000여대가 팔리는데 그쳤다.
이에 기아차 미국법인 마이클 스프라그 판매총괄 부사장은 LA오토쇼에서 코리아헤럴드를 만나 “$6만 달러짜리 기아차에 대한 수요는 분명히 존재”한다며 향후 판매에 자신감을 나타냈다.
그는 “기존 미국이나 독일이 아닌 새로운 프리미엄 브랜드를 추구하는 실속 있는 소비자들이 주 고객층”이라며 “아직 시작단계”이니 지켜봐 달라고 덧붙였다.
가격이 다소 높게 책정된 것이 아니냐는 지적에 대해서는 벤츠나 BMW 등 경쟁모델에 비해 여전히 2~3만 달러 저렴해 경쟁력을 갖췄다고 설명했다.
그는 “일본 브랜드들의 공세가 거세지고 있지만 기아의 브랜드경쟁력 또한 높아졌다. 향후 판매에도 자신 있다”고 말했다.
(로스 앤젤레스=코리아헤럴드 이지윤기자
jylee@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 영문 기사>
Kia Motors pins high hopes on K900LOS ANGELES – Kia Motors’ U.S. sales chief Wednesday expressed confidence in selling the carmaker’s first luxury sedan, the K900, despite its lukewarm sales over the past year since its debut.
“There is a market for the $60,000 Kia car in the U.S.,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president of sales and marketing of Kia Motors America, at the carmaker’s exhibition booth at the LA Auto Show.
“There is a niche market for people who don’t want traditional German and American luxury cars and are independent thinkers who would like to stand out in a crowd.”
Kia, whose best-selling cars in the U.S. include the Optima midsize sedan and the Soul box car, launched its first rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan, the K900 or the K9 in Korea, in 2013.
Playing with the “big boys” in the market such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the car comes equipped with a powerful engine and plenty of luxury features. For the latest model, the carmaker has equipped it with a 5.0-liter, V8, 420-horsepower engine.
But the sales so far have been lackluster. Kia had set a goal of selling 5,000 K900 vehicles annually, but as of October, only 1,000 units have been sold.
“There are tier-two players like Infiniti and Lincoln Volvo. It’s matter of time because every buyer is not always in the market at the same time,” he said. “We position the car against Mercedes and BMW. If we look at it feature to feature, we are right there with them. We are still cheaper by $20,000 to $30,000.”
The U.S. sales chief added that the K900 was serving as a symbolic vehicle for other Kia brands, stressing the car is part of a long-term strategy.
He also showed confidence with Japanese brands that are beefing up offensive in the market with a favorable currency.
“It is true that there are consumers who still don’t know much about the Kia brand or remember the old Kia. We have been here for 20 years, while other Japanese carmakers entered the market 40 to 60 years ago,” he said.
“But the new Kia have been well embraced by the U.S. consumers in recent years. When we look at the whole picture -- design, technology, safety and driving dynamics -- I believe we still have an advantage over our rivals.”
By Lee Ji-yoon (
jylee@heraldcorp.com)
Korea Herald correspondent
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