ON

“Study on Marketing Strategy of Kia India”

With reference to

A Project Report Submitted to Aryabhatta Knowledge University

In partial Fulfillment for the Award of the Degree of

“BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MARKETING)” (2018-21)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF : SUBMITED BY:

DR. Shiv Deo SinghTanishq Singh

Professor of L.N.Mishra Patna Roll no -18304

BBA 6TH SEMESTER

L.N.MISHRA INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & SOCIAL

CHANGE

AFFILIATED TO ARYABHATTA KNOWLEDGE UNIVERSITY,PATNA

(Approved by AICTE & RECOGNISED AND AIDED BY THE H.R.D
,GOVT. OF INDIA)

1,Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Patna-800 001,Bihar

1
 Project Report On

Marketing Strategy of Kia India

SUBMITED

BY:

Tanishq Singh

Roll no -18304

BBA 6TH SEMESTER

BATCH-2018-21

L.N.MISHRA INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & SOCIAL CHANGE

1,Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Patna-800 001,Bihar

2
Preface

As a part of BBA curriculum and in order to gain practical knowledge in the field of
management, we are required to make a report on any one of the various
research topics under selected field of management. My project report is on
Study of marketing strategy of KIA India.

The basic objective of doing this project is to acquire knowledge about various
factors that affect an Organisation.

Doing this project helped me in enhancing my knowledge regarding the factors

that influence the level of commitment of an employee towards an organization.
The project has also helped me in learning facts about data collection,
organization, presentation, and data analysis.

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STUDENT DECLARATION
This is to certify that I have completed the Summer Project titled”“(Study onMarketingStrategy
of Kia India)’’” under the guidance of “(Dr. Chandra Singh)” in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration at L.N.Mishra
Institute of Economic Development & Social Change, Patna. This is an original piece of work & I
have not submitted it earlier elsewhere.

Date:

Signature:

Place:

Name:

University Enrolment No.:

CERTIFICATE FROM THE INSTITUTE GUIDE

4
Dr. Shiv Deo Singh

Professor

This is to certify that the summer project titled “Study on Marketing Strategy of Kia India”is an
academic work done by “Tanishq Singh” submitted in thepartial fulfilment of the requirement
for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration at L.N.Mishra Institute of
Economic Development & Social Change, Patna. Under my guidance & direction.

To the best of my knowledge and belief the data & informationpresented by him in the project
has not been submitted earlier.

(Dr.Shiv Deo Singh)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

5
No endeavor is complete without acknowledgement those who helped me to complete this
project & make it a success. My sincere thanks to Dr. Shiv Deo Singh Professor of L.N.M.I and
my project guide for giving me the opportunity to do this project work, who has been my guide
for this project and helped me out in the completion.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express gratitude to my parents and family
members, who have constantly supported and encouraged me in shaping my career and L.N
Mishra Institute of economic development and social change, Patna and my faculty member for
providing me such an opportunity to do this project work on the topic STUDY OF MARKETING
STRATEGY OG KIA INDIA.

Executive Summary

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7
CONTENT

TOPIC PAGE NO.

1. Cover page
2. Title page
3. Declaration
4. Preface
5. Student declaration
6. Acknowledgment
7. Certificate from faculty guide
8. Executive Summary
9. Table of contents
10. INTRODUCTION
11. About KIA
12. History of KIA
13. An overview of Indian Automobile industry
14. Marketing Strategy
15. Importance of marketing Strategy
16. Objectove of the research
17. Limitation of the research
18. Company Profile
19. Introduction
20. Mission vision and values
21. Marketing Mix
22. Swot analysis
23. Domstic market
24. International Market
25. Market share
26. Research Methodology and objective

About KIA MOTORS

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Kia Motors Corp., entered in India's automobile market, to establishthe brand with focus on
more volumes and market share rather than onprofits. The South Korean Hyundai Motor Group
subsidiary beforeintroducing its electrified vehicles in India thoroughly understood
thegovernment plan to set up infrastructure and other needs of electrifiedmobility.

The managing director and chief executive of Kia Motors India,Kookhyun Shim said in an
interview “Kia’s philosophy is more aboutbeing a sustainable brand in India for the long term.
We have learnt a lotof lessons from other competitor brands. So, we want to be the mostloved
in the first stage". Kia with its initial investment of $1.1 billionin India will be unable to become
profitable soon.

KIA unveiled its first product, Seltos which is a Sport-Utility Vehicle(SUV) aimed at challenging
Indian SUV customers which has otherstrong players such as Hyundai, Mahindra and Mahindra
Ltd. and TataMotors Ltd. The new entrant SAIC Motor Corp. of China and France'sGroupe PSA
will make more competitive segment.

In such a scenario of stiff competition, Kia has set an aggressive goal ofbecoming the 5thlargest
automaker in India in the upcoming five years.To meet its goal, the company planned to
launch4 new models over thecoming two years.Therefore, in the present extremely
competitive Indian car market, thatis owed to be the world's third largest till 2025, how far Kia's
entry andphilosophy of being sustainable brand in India is wise.

HISTORY of KIA

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According to Kia India, the name "Kia" derives from the Sino-Korean characters (ki, 'to arise')
and (a, which stands for 'Asia'); it is roughly translated as "Rising from Asia."

Kia Motors is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturing company. With sales
over four million vehicles, their dominion in the automotive market ranks right next to the
Hyundai motor company, which also owns a third of the former’s total market stakes.

South Korea’s oldest car company, Kia was founded on June 9, 1944 as a manufacturer of steel
tubing and bicycle parts by hand – and has operated as one of the country’s Chaebols since
then. In 1951 Kia began building complete bicycles. In 1952, Kia changed its name from
Kyungsung Precision Industry, and later built motorcycles (starting in 1957), trucks (1962) and
cars (1974).By 1957, Kyungsung had refashioned themselves as Kia Industries and grown to
build light-engine motorcycles for Honda. The company opened its first integrated automotive
assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant. Kia built the small Brisarange of cars until 1981, when
production came to an end after the new military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry
consolidation, meaning Kia had to give up passenger cars and focus entirely on light trucks.They
reopened five years later and rejoined the industry where they had left off.

Starting in 1986 (when only 26 cars were manufactured, followed by over 95,000 the next
year), Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with Ford. Kia produced several
Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other
countries. These models included the Kia Pride, based on the Mazda 121, and the Avella, which
were sold in North America and Australia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire.

In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The first Kia-branded
vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon in February
1994. Since then, Kia expanded methodically one region at a time. Dealers in 1994 sold the
Sephia, and a few years later the United States line expanded with the addition of the Sportage.
By 1995, there existed over one hundred Kia dealerships across thirty states, selling a record
24,740 automobiles

However, during the Asian financial crisis, Kia declared bankruptcy in 1997; in 1998 Hyundai
Motor Company acquired 51% of the company outbidding Ford Motor Company which had
owned an interest in Kia Motors since 1986. After subsequent divestments, Hyundai Motor
Company owns less than 50% of the company. From 2005, Kia focused on the European and
American markets, building on its design portfolio and producing cars with a brand identity.

10
Since 2005, Kia has focused on the European market and has identified design as its “core
future growth engine”—leading to the hiring of Peter Schreyer in 2006 as Chief Design Officer
and his subsequent creation of a new corporate grille known as the ‘Tiger Nose’.

Thereon, it has been a steady climb for the company’s share in the automobile market, and it
has received numerous international acknowledgements for its global market presence.

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Current Status of Automobile Sector
The automotive industry in India is one of the larger markets in the world. It had previously
been one of the fastest growing market globally, but is currently experiencing flat or
negative growth rates. In 2018 India with the increase sale of 8.3 percent yearly to 3.99 million
units became the 4thlargest cars and 7thseventh largest commercial vehicles manufacturer.
The auto market has dominance of two-wheelers segment with 80percent share in the
domestic automobile sales in FY19. The dominance is due to large number of rising middle
income and a youth population. Further, the rising interest of the auto firms in taping the rural
markets further facilitated the growth of this sector.

India being a leading auto exporter have strong growth expectations of export in the upcoming
years. The growth of Automobile exports during FY19 was14.50%and is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 3.05%from 2016 to 2026. Moreover, India is expected to be a market leader in the
world by 2020 in the Kia India has made its debut in the Indian market with the two-wheeler
and four-wheeler segment via various launch of its first product, the Seltos which is a mid-size
suv.

Despite the ongoing challenge of COVID-19, the Indian automotive industry seems to be
overcoming most of its challenges, and many are now in the rearview mirror. The sector is also
benefiting from new tailwinds, such as global supply-chain rebalancing, government incentives
to increase exports, and technology disruptions that create white spaces. These developments
will help create opportunities at all levels of the automotive value chain.

Industry participants are now beginning to see a clear highway, where they can push on the
gas, accelerate, and go into a higher gear. From our research, we have distilled a set of
imperatives and enablers that industry participants must understand as they attempt to fast-
track their value-creation trajectories.

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13
INDIA ARRIVAL
Kia India entered in India's automobile market, to establishthe brand with focus on more
volumes and market share rather than onprofits. The South Korean Hyundai Motor Group
subsidiary beforeintroducing its electrified vehicles in India thoroughly understood
thegovernment plan to set up infrastructure and other needs of electrifiedmobility.

The managing director and chief executive of Kia IndiaIndia,Kookhyun Shim said in an interview
“ philosophy is more aboutbeing a sustainable brand in India for the long term. We have learnt
a lotof lessons from other competitor brands. So, we want to be the mostloved in the first
stage". Kia with its initial investment of $1.1 billionin India will be unable to become profitable
soon.

KIA unveiled its first product, Seltos which is a Sport-Utility Vehicle(SUV) aimed at challenging
Indian SUV customers which has otherstrong players such as Hyundai, Mahindra and Mahindra
Ltd. and TataMotors Ltd. The new entrant SAIC Motor Corp. of China and France'sGroupe PSA
will make more competitive segment.

In such a scenario of stiff competition, Kia has set an aggressive goal ofbecoming the 5 thlargest
automaker in India in the upcoming five years.To meet its goal, the company planned to
launch4 new models over thecoming two years.

Therefore, in the present extremely competitive Indian car market, thatis owed to be the
world's third largest till 2025, how far Kia's entry andphilosophy of being sustainable brand in
India is wise.

In August 2019 the Auto sector witnessed its worst drop in demand in last twenty years. Sales
of domestic vehicles was constantly declining from April till September 2019. Automobile brand
Kia India though broadcast in 2016its entry in India and since then were quiet, until launched its
first product for the Indian market – The Kia Seltos – during the festive season in October, 2019.
Interestingly, just eight months before the launch, very few in India had even heard about the
brand. Still KIA has some crazy ambitious announcements of ranking itself in the top five
automobile providers of India in next three years.

It invested $1.1 billion (about Rs 6,900 crore) in building up the lavish manufacturing plant of
536 acre in Andhra Pradesh's District Anantapur of India. The plant with a capacity of
manufacturing 3,00,000 units annually has environment-friendly infrastructure with well-
equipped AI building and its most advanced robotics technology8. To retail such units of cars
KIA came up with its aggressive marketing strategy.

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Kia India became the fastest carmaker to achieve 200,000 units of wholesale domestic sales in
the country. After registering a sales figure of 100,000 sales units in July 2020, the brand has
registered sales of the second 100,000 units within a record 6-months’ time. The maker of
Seltos, Sonet and Carnival, has successfully dispatched 200,000 Kia vehicles to its dealerships
across India within seventeen months of sales operations in the country.

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Mission statement

Kia’s mission statement is “to produce the best vehicles exhibiting superior technology, quality,
and value through a spirit of continuous improvement, creativity, teamwork, and value-based
relationships.”

The statement above shows that the company cares about what it puts out there. It wants its
creation to be the best, the most convenient, and something that people can rely on. The
company strives for being a leader but, at the same time, being a great outcome in case you
decide to invest in it.

Vision statement

The vision statement of Kia Motors is “Establishing a robust marketing culture that permeates
every level of organization and within which the distinct needs of customers are identified and
met will continue to be our vision for the short, medium, and long term.”

Again, this is a company that truly cares about its customers and their needs. A company that
wants to make sure that everything you ever wish for as a car consumer will be fulfilled. And
the way that the statement ends is also very impressive. It is nice to know that even in the long
run a company still aims to thrive.

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17
What is Marketing Strategy ?

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well

the product or service fits him and sells itself.”

-Peter Drucker

Marketing strategy is the comprehensive plan formulated particularly

for achieving the marketing objectives of the organization. It provides a
blueprint for attaining these marketing objectives. It is the building
block of a marketing plan. It is designed after detailed marketing
research. A marketing strategy helps an organization to concentrate it’s
scarce resouces on the best possible opportunities so as to increase the
sales.

A marketing strategy is designed by:

Choosing the target market: By target market we mean to whom the

organization wants to sell its products. Not all the market segments are
fruitful to an organization. There are certain market segments which
guarantee quick profits, there are certain segments which may be
having great potential but there may be high barriers to entry. A careful
choice has to be made by the organization. An indepth marketing
research has to be done of the traits of the buyers and the particular
needs of the buyers in the target market.

Gathering the marketing mix: By marketing mix we mean how the

organization proposes to sell its products. The organization has to
gather the four P’s of marketing in appropriate combination. Gathering
the marketing mix is a crucial part of marketing task. Various decisions
have to be made such as -

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• What is the most appropriate mix of the four P’s in a given
situation?

• What distribution channels are available and which one should be

used?

• What developmental strategy should be used in the target

market?

• How should the price structure be designed?

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IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING STRATEGY
1) Helps to gain a competitive advantage

The first and foremost on the list of the Importance of Marketing Strategy is that it helps the
firm gain a competitive advantage in the market amidst the tough competition with an edge
over the existing players and the new entrants who are trying to establish their brand presence
in the market.

A well-defined marketing strategy harps on the unique selling propositions of the brand along
with the features and benefits of the products and services offered by the firm in a creative,
strategic, and planned manner highlighting that how the brand and its offerings are better than
the ones of the competitor. The consistent and continuous messaging and communication
strategy helps the brand to curate a distinctive identity in the volatile and competitive market.

2) Brand Recognition

Along with the promotion of the goods and services offered by the firm, having a powerful
marketing strategy helps the brand and the overall company to attain a remarkable feat in the
target market and industry as a whole with the customers and industry peers looking up to the
brand and its offerings in a niche and positive manner.

The main fundamental of marketing strategy is to highlight and promote the attributes, legacy,
and USP’s of the brand to start with followed by its offerings.

3) Attract a new set of customers

The management and the marketing department of the firm need to understand the
Importance of Marketing Strategy if they want to attract the new set of customers from the
same operational market plus from the untapped markets as well.

The promotional tools and techniques that are an integral part of the marketing strategy are
planned and selected considering the taste, lifestyle, income levels, and other such parameters
of the targeted customers that works as a pull factor for them and helps the sales department
to convert the fence sitters to quality prospects and to the customers of the brand.

4) Plan the nature of products and services

Market research and study is a significant part of marketing strategy and this aspect helps
management of the company to plan the features, and unique selling propositions of the
products and services that are in pipeline or are in the launch planning phase.

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There are thorough research and study on the current market scenarios, what do the
competitors offer, government policies, the factor of profitability, and other such changing
dynamics that can affect the sales and operations of the products and services. Hence, it is
crucial for the company and its promoters to pay due attention to the Importance of Marketing
Strategy.

5) Plan the marketing budgets

Every department of the company right from the marketing, sales, HR, and others are given
annual budgets by the management that needs to be spent in the benefit of the company.

Having a planned and aligned marketing strategy makes sure that the allocated budgets don’t
go haywire by spending on the promotional activities that have low return on the investments
plus there is an optimal use and allocation of the marketing budgets on the marketing tools and
promotional tactics that helps attaining not only marketing goals but the overall business goals
and objectives too.

6) Creative Edge

Next in the line of the Importance of Marketing Strategy is that the brand and all overall
marketing and promotional activities get an edge of creativity as the brand cynosures and the
marketing departments liaise with the design agencies, media planners, PR agencies, and other
such vendors that dedicatedly understand the nature of the brand and its offerings and come
up with the unique, out-of-the-box, and exclusive ideas that give the brand a creative edge and
helps curating a distinguished personality in the market.

7) Effective distribution plan

Once the management understands and grasps the essence and Importance of Marketing
Strategy, it can have an effective distribution plan in place. With the introduction of online
selling and the growing impact of social media the company needs to have a wide network of
distribution as the young generation prefers to buy the products and services online directly
from the company website or through its online promotional partners.

This is different to the middle-aged or older generation who still believes in indulging and
finalizing the purchase by visiting the physical store our outlet of the brand. The company
needs to march ahead with the latest advancements and the evolving tastes and preferences of
the customers of all age-groups.

8) Optimal pricing

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With the competitive research and in-depth study of the market dynamics along with the
spending capacity of the target market, the marketing strategy helps the company to arrive at
an optimal pricing plan for its products and services that is as per the market yardstick,
competitive in nature, and helps the company to generate higher sales and profits. This point
holds a lot of significance in understanding the Importance of Marketing Strategy.

9) The overall growth of the firm

Marketing strategy facilitates enhanced brand value, increased market share, competitive
advantage, higher sales, and elevated profits that result in the overall growth of the firm
drawing a larger picture. It helps the company to carve a niche in the market with a
distinguished brand identity and the offerings of the products and services that are planned
with unique attributes and features.

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Elements of Marketing Mix Strategy
Product

Kia India a public Korean company is ranked as one ofthe top manufacturers for its estimated
1.5 million units peryear sales figures. It is a brand known for its exclusive,vivacious and
credible range of automobiles. The productrange includes trucks, passenger cars and SUVs
along withmilitary, transportation vehicles and other variants.

Kia India has made its debut in the Indian market with thelaunch of its first product, the Seltos
which is a mid-sizeSports Utility Vehicle (SUV). It is targeted at the robustIndian SUV market,
which has players such as Hyundai,Tata Motors Ltd, and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Thesegment has more competition with the upcoming entry ofChina's SAIC Motor owned MG
Motor and Groupe PSA ofFrance. Despite the competition, Kia with its mostaggressive strategy
for India plans to introduce four newmodels over the next two years. Presently the popular
Kiacars in India include Kia Seltos and Kia Carnival. The Kiacars in India will rival some of the
popular models for topbrands like Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai India10 thathave
announced plans to offer electric vehicles in India in2020. Kia has also invested in making its
plant in AndhraPradesh ready for electric vehicle assembly.

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KIA Seltos

The name 'Seltos' is inspired by Greek mythology and the legend of 'Celtos' the son of Hercules.

Aimed at the new age and tech-savvy buyers, the cabin is characterized by broad, sweeping
lines and sophisticated detailing. Seltos comes equipped with a range of connected
technologies to maximize convenience, comfort and ease of use.

Kia offers the Seltos in Tech and GT Line. The Tech Line isoffered in five variants -- HTE, HTK,
HTK+, HTX, andHTX+ -- price range varies from Rs 9.89 lakh to Rs 16.34lakh. The GT Line which
means Grand Tourer (GT) is akind of sports car that is made for high speed and long-distance
driving, along with performance and luxuryattributes. It is offered in 3 variants -- GTK, GTX, and

GTX+ -- price range of Rs 13.79 lakh to Rs 17.34 lakh (ex-showroom pan-India).

Seltos Engine comes with 3 BS VI engine options -Petrol1.5L, turbocharged petrol 1.4L, and
diesel 1.5L. Theturbocharged petrol 1.4-litre engine is only offered with theGT Line variants
with the Manual and Automatictransmission. Seltos has a mileage of 16.1 to 20.8 kmplbased on
fuel type and the variants. The 5-seater SUVSeltos measures of 4315mmin length, 1800mm
width and a2610mm of wheelbase.Kia has offered a bunch of features in the Seltos as Kia'sUVO
connected car technology infotainment system of10.25-inch touch screen, ambient lighting
with head-updisplay of 8-inch and smart air purifier. The select variantsoffers a multi-
information display of 7-inch, Bose soundsystem with eight-speakers, ventilated front seats, a
poweradjustable driver seat, a sunroof and leatherette interiors.Safety features includes 6
airbags, ABS with EBD as wellas electronic stability control. It has 360° parking camerawith
blind-view and rear-view monitor are also offeredalong with parking sensors in front and rear.

Seltos compete with the Nissan Kicks,Maruti Suzuki S-Cross, Hyundai Creta and Renault Captur.
It based on itspricing competes MG Hector and Tata Harrier. It will alsotake on the upcoming
Skoda VISION IN SUV.

Within just two months of its launch, Kia’s Seltos emerged as the highest-selling SUV in the
segment and marked Kia’s entry in the list of top five carmakers in India.

The SUV segment has been the fastest growing in the domestic market with a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% over the last five years. Consequently, the share of such

24
vehicles as part of the overall passenger vehicle sales has grown to 28-29% at the end of FY20
from just 13-14% in FY14-15.

The entry and mid-size sub-segments within the SUV segment have proven to be the most
lucrative because of increasing demand from urban customers. Bigger vehicles such as SUVs are
considered financially lucrative as well if supported by economies of scale, as they command
higher margins than hatchbacks and entry level sedans.

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26
Kia Carnival

Carnival is the Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) available in 3variants: Prestige, Premium and
Limousine, with theoption of seven, eight or nine seats. All three variants areavailable with the
2.2-litre diesel engine. The limousinevariant is a 7-seater version with luxurious armchairs
forthe middle row. The Prestige variant is available as a 7- or9-seater. The entry-level Premium
trim is available as a 7-or 8-seater. Three colour options offered are Glacier WhitePearl, Steel
Silver, Aurora Black Pearl. However, some ofthesecolours are available in specific versions. In
contrastto the Innova Crysta, the Carnival is a car with front-wheeldrive with claimant mileage
of 13.9kmpl and 540 litres ofboot space.

Carnival has exclusive features as Android Auto and AppleCarPlay, wireless phone charger, rear
electric sliding doors,rear entertainment screens as well as tri-zone climatecontrol. Safety
features on offer are 6 Airbags, Anti-lockingBraking System (ABS) with Electronic
BrakeforceDistribution (EBD), front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera as well as
electronic stability control. The top-spec variants also get UVO connected car (free for 3
years),Featured with sound system of premium 8-speaker fromHarman/Kardon and dual touch
screen of 10.1",ventilationfor driver seat, entertainment system at rear seat, ten-waypower
driver seat, wireless charger and smartwatchconnectivity.

Kia Carnival Rivals against Ford Endeavour, MahindraAlturas G4, Toyota Innova Crysta, Isuzu
MU-X, HondaCR-V and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport.

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28
KIA SONET

The Kia Sonet brings a fresh appeal to the fiercely competitive compact crossover segment. In
terms of hardware, the new arrival is pretty much identical to the Hyundai Venue but with a
bold design language, tempting entry-level price point and impressive interior, the Sonet stands
out. In addition to the Venue, the Kia mini SUV competes with Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata
Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Ford EcoSport.Kia Sonet took the segment crown in October
2020, its first full month of sales in the country. Sonet sales in the first month is at 9,266 unis.
This it achieved in just 12 days of Sep 2020.

Kia Motors India aims at 1 lakh unit sales of Sonet in the domestic market in first full year and
50,000 in exports market. The company aims to export Kia Sonet to over 70 counties including
those in Asia, Africa and South America

The Sonet has three engine choices -- Smartstream 1.2-litre petrol (83PS/115Nm), Smartstream
1.0-litre T-GDI petrol (120PS/172Nm) and 1.5-litre CRDi diesel (100PS/240Nm - WGT and
115PS/250Nm - VGT). The 1.2-litre petrol engine is mated to a 5-speed MT, while the 1.0-litre T-
GDI petrol mill has 6-speed iMT and 7-speed DCT options. The 1.5-litre CRDi diesel motor can
be paired either with a 6-speed MT (WGT) or a 6-speed AT (VGT).

Inside, the Sonet gets a 10.25-inch (26.03 cm) HD touchscreen with infotainment and
navigation system. The system offers Kia’s UVO ‘connected car’ technology. Additionally, the
4.2-inch (10.66 cm) instrument cluster presents information to the driver in color, such as turn-
by-turn navigation instructions, Highline Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and drive
mode and traction mode selection.

The Sonet offers audio performance from BOSE, with a seven-speaker system with sub-woofer.
Other interior elements include LED Sound Mood Lighting and a wireless smartphone charger
with cooling function.

The Sonet is equipped with Kia’s Smart Pure Air Purifier with virus protection. The new Smart
Pure Air Purifier in Sonet has a two-level purification system. The pollutant-cleansing HEPA filter
incorporates N29 which uses fiber made from nano-ionic bonding technology of copper
sulphide, to remove pollutants and bacteria from the cabin. The second level of filtration is
achieved through UVC LED, scientifically proven to kill bacteria and viruses.

For safety Kia has included these features:

Six airbags

ABS (anti-lock braking system) with EBD (electronic brake force distribution)

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ESC (Electronic Stability Control), HAC (Hill-start Assist Control), VSM (Vehicle Stability
Management) and BA (brake assist)

Front and rear parking sensors

Projector fog lamps

Highline tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)

Auto headlamps

ISOFIX child-seat anchoring points

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Price

Kia India estimated approx. forty-four billion dollars annual revenues. After a thorough market
analysis, it set upthe effective pricing strategy which focuses to target rightmarket considering
the customer willingness and power topurchase.

Kia Indiais understanding the tough competition ofcompetitor firms, attempted to walkout a
right balanceamong its company, customers and prices. It embraced a competitive pricing
strategy which offers product pricesmarginally same to its competitor's company products. Kia
India with the basic thumb rule that greater the volume,greater the profits has put focus more
on sales numbers than on profits.

Kia's debut model in India, the Seltos is also the segmentleader at present. The Kia Seltos is a 5-
seater midsize SUVthat is priced from Rs 9.89 lakh to Rs 17.29 lakh (ex showroom). Kia Carnival
price starts at 24.95 Lakh andgoes upto 33.95 Lakh. The price of Diesel variant forCarnival
ranges between 24.95 Lakh - 33.95 Lakh.

Kia India in its origin country South Korea applied a competitive pricing strategy. However, at
the global front in US, some regions of UK and Africa and for export products it kept price high.
In-spite of having strong brand value in different regions of the world is not offering very
competitive discounts as compare to other competitors as Nissan. With ambitious expansion
and upscaling of its flagships and other brands the company is aiming to raise up the price
range. Still But in comparison to the conventional brand range is not competitive. Further to
avoid the brand segments overlapping of its products it also maintains price gaps among its
product ranges.

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Place

Kia India serves across the globe with its Seoulheadquarters in South Korea. The firm has
fourteen plantsof manufacturing and designing located at various regionsof South Korea,
United States, Vietnam, Mexico, Chinaand Slovakia. Sales and Distribution are taken care
byAmerican unit of Kia India.

Kia offers service and selling facilities of its productsthrough widespread distribution channel
network ofservice dealers and distributors expanded over more than170 countries across the
globe with about 4000 dealers.This strong network helped in achieving more than three million-
unit sales. The company has 342 sales officesheaded by headquarters located in twenty
different regions.Kia Motor vehicles orders can be easily placed throughdealers' outlets or
online portals of automobiles.

Kia India, along with its debut of Seltos entered with a veryaggressive network strategy of its
presence in 160 cities and 265 touch points. This number is far more than whatmost companies
which have been existing in Indian marketfor over a decade.

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Promotion

Kia India in its promotional mix strategy focus stronglyon advertisement element of mix.
Recently through itsalliance with several main sports as Australian Open,Basketball events NBA,
Women's NBA, the FIFA andUEFA cup, it gains across the globe brand awareness. Kia India
opted various communication media likehoardings, Television, print media, online
advertisements,etc for promotion. It collaborated with certain sports teamsand athletes to
enhance brand awareness. Kia India gainsfaith of customers and brand reputation
throughshowcasing quality, design, safety features of motor andcelebrity's endorsement. It run
online campaigns as 'Share#Kia' as a promotional tool on various online platforms.Kia globally
showcased society and environmentalconcern with an active participant of several CSR
activitieslike donating products for the handicapped and supporting college goers.

Kia India probably by now with lots of curiosity hasreached their target audience. The Sales and
Marketingteam with market specific storytelling and through variousOnline, Offline & TV
promotions may outreached its customers.

As Indian consumers accelerates the level of familiaritywith Bollywood so Kia connect with
consumers throughcampaign having Tiger Shroff, a youth icon. India withmore mobile user
customers it adopted a digital-firstapproach. The idea was to generate a sense of
awarenessbefore introducing the brand. It intensely utilized onlineand social media platforms
as Facebook, Instagram andYouTube. Its understanding of Indians as lover of videowatcher,
opted the video strategy as promotion tool.Theresults of these promotional strategies were
amazingreflected by more than six thousand first day bookingssince pre-bookings begins.

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SWOT ANALYSIS

Strength

Brand value: Kia is a valued brand across the world with an estimated value of 6.7 billion USD
which is up by 6.7 % from the previous years. The brands from the company have also been
consistently included in the top 50 brands of the world.

Safe and reliable car models:One important reason that Kia car models have gained heavy
popularity in leading markets like India and the US is because of their safety and reliability. Kia’s
SUV portfolio is particularly strong which attracts Indian or US car buyers. However, another
major point is the reliability of these cars which are considered to be safe as well as
considerably reliable in terms of overall performance.

Pricing strategy: Another major strength of Kia Motors company is its pricing strategy. Its
volume growth in key markets including the US and India, apart from South Korea is driven by
its pricing strategy apart from product quality.

Kia has adopted a competitive pricing strategy, which has helped the company win in key
markets, including the United States and India. Its car models appeal to middle-class buyers,
which was evident in its sales of Seltos in India. However, it has also started attracting affluent
buyers through its higher-priced models in the US, but its affordably priced SUVs remain the key
drivers of sales in most corners of the world.

In India, Kia was able to beat most other brands including the local brands in terms of SUV sales
from 2019. The reason was the growth in popularity of its affordably priced Seltos car model.
Now, Sonet has also joined its fleet in the Indian market and is enjoying heavy sales. While Kia
has a diversified product portfolio, its affordable pricing strategy makes the appeal of its car
models grow for the middle-class consumers looking for a safe and reliable ride.

J D Powers has ranked Kia as the top brand for the mass markets. Kia achieved this ranking for a
sixth consecutive year. Apart from that, Kia has also achieved more J D Powers awards for Initial
Quality than any other brand. Kia’s Forte, Sedona, Sorento and Soul have all topped in their
respective segments. Kia owners have also reported less quality issues compared to other car
buyers.

Successful track record of integrating complimentary firms through mergers & acquisition. It
has successfully integrated number of technology companies in the past few years to
streamline its operations and to build a reliable supply chain.

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Good Returns on Capital Expenditure – Kia Motors is relatively successful at execution of new
projects and generated good returns on capital expenditure by building new revenue streams.

Reliable suppliers – It has a strong base of reliable supplier of raw material thus enabling the
company to overcome any supply chain bottlenecks.

Automation of activities brought consistency of quality to Kia Motors products and has enabled
the company to scale up and scale down based on the demand conditions in the market.

Strong dealer community – It has built a culture among distributor & dealers where the dealers
not only promote company’s products but also invest in training the sales team to explain to
the customer how he/she can extract the maximum benefits out of the products.

Highly skilled workforce through successful training and learning programs. Kia Motors is
investing huge resources in training and development of its employees resulting in a workforce
that is not only highly skilled but also motivated to achieve more.

Superb Performance in New Markets – Kia Motors has built expertise at entering new markets
and making success of them. The expansion has helped the organization to build new revenue
stream and diversify the economic cycle risk in the markets it operates in.

Successful track record of developing new products – product innovation.

Weakness

Weaknesses in The SWOT analysis of Kia Motors

Weaknesses are used to refer to areas where the business or the brand needs improvement.
Some of the key weaknesses of Kia Motors are:

Brand Identity: Though a well-known brand in its home market, Kia Motors has been struggling
to build a brand identity or a positive image for itself in Europe and USA and has been largely
unsuccessful in doing that.

A shift of focus: Kia which was primarily focusing on fleet sales earlier have attributed their dip
in revenues to the decrease in demand for fleet vehicles and decided to reinvent themselves as
a retail car brand. This may not be a right strategy.

Poor advertisements: The company has been looking primarily at sponsorships of Formula 1
and other sporting events and ends up spending most of their promotional budget there with
the result that they are almost invisible in the retail market.

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Weaknesses of Kia Motors

 Poor reach: In comparison to competition Kia Motors has not been able to reach out to
a wider audience and has restricted itself to smaller and niche markets.
 Research and Development: Even though Kia Motors is spending more than the average
research and development expenditure within the industry, it is spending way less than
a few players within the industry that have had a significant advantage as a result of
their innovative products.
 High Day Sales Inventory: The time it takes for products to be purchased and sold are
higher than the industry average, meaning that Kia Motors builds up on inventory
adding unnecessary costs to the business.
 Rented Property: A significant proportion of the property that Kia Motors owns is rented
rather than purchased. It has to pay large amounts of rent on these adding to its costs.
 Low current ratio: The current ratio that shows the company’s ability to meet its short
term financial obligations, is lower than the industry average. This could mean that the
company could have liquidity problems in the future.
 The company has low levels of current assets compared to current liabilities, and this
can create liquidity problems for it in operations.
 Cash flow problems: There is a lack of proper financial planning at Kia Motors regarding
cash flows, leading to certain circumstances where there isn’t enough cash flow as
required leading to unnecessary unplanned borrowing.
 Integration: Kia Motors's current structure and culture have resulted in the failure of
various mergers aimed at vertical integration.
 Diversification in the workforce: The workforce at Kia Motors is concentrated with
mostly local workers, and low amounts of workers from other racial backgrounds. Lack
of diversification makes it difficult for employees from different racial background to
adjust at the workplace, leading to loss of talent.
 Market Research: Kia Motors has not conducted market research within the market that
is serves since the past 2 years. As a result, it is making decisions based on 2 years old
data, while customer needs may have evolved over time.
 High employee turnover rates: Kia Motors has a higher employee turnover rate
compared to competitors. This means that it has more people leaving the job, and as a
result, it is spending more on training and development as employees keep leaving and
joining.
 Quality Control: Kia Motors has a lower budget for its quality control department than
competitors. This leads to lack of consistency and the possibility of damage to quality
across its various outlets.

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  A few products have a high market share, while most of the products have a low market
share. This reliance on a few products makes Kia Motors vulnerable to external threats if
these few products suffer for any reason.
 The workload is a high per worker as there are fewer workers than the actual work
required. This puts workers under psychological stress and is likely to be less productive.
 Worker morale is low due to company culture and politics that have grown in recent
years.
 Competition and qualified employees have been leaving the organisation in recent
years, which could mean a shortage of good talent for the company in the upcoming
years.
 The decision making is highly centralized, and decisions by teams need to be approved
by certain officials. This reduces efficiency in operations by making them more time
consuming. It also leads to reduced innovation.
 The performance appraisal is not in a systematic manner. People are often not
appraised for their performance. This leads to lower work morale and lack of promotion
opportunities for employees.

Opportunities

Electrical cars:The era of electric mobility is approaching as consumers have shown their
interest in buying EVs. The sales of electric cars in 2020 grew by around 43% compared to the
previous year. While the overall automobile sales slumped by around 20% in 2020, EV sales
gained driven by increased interest of consumers in environment-friendly vehicles. The
pandemic has accelerated the change as people around the world are now even more
concerned about the climate and the environment.

Tesla, the largest automobile brand that sells electric cars only, was the biggest gainer in terms
of EV sales and sold around half a million EVs worldwide. Volkswagen followed it in the global
market. KIA is also investing in the expansion of its EV portfolio. This is a major opportunity for
the car brand, which has already gained a firm footing in the US, India, and its domestic market
South Korea. If Kia continues to innovate and invest in building electric cars and hybrids, it could
significantly boost its sales worldwide. Its SUV models are already top-rated in several leading
markets. With EVs and hybrids, the company can accelerate its growth momentum.

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Governments worldwide are also pushing for this change and have formed policies that benefit
electric car manufacturers. Tesla’s fast rise as the largest automobile brand is evidence that
customers are loving EVs, and so are governments.

Autonomous vehicles:

Autonomous driving is also an area of opportunity for Kia. Investing in autonomous driving
technologies will yield superior results in the coming years. The company has developed a
roadmap for developing autonomous driving technology based on the growing demand and its
advantages.

Technology has remained the biggest driver of transformation for the automobile industry in
the 21st century. Currently, autonomous driving is among the most talked-about technologies
in the world of automobiles. KIA’s roadmap is based on the classification by the Society of
automotive engineers. The society of automotive engineers classifies autonomous driving
technologies into six categories based on the advancement level from 0 to 5. Level 0 or the first
level includes no automation. With each passing level, the automation level grows until it has
reached level 5, where the automated driving system takes full control. Level 3 of the
classification implies partial automation, and level 4 includes a high degree of automation, but
the system only takes control under specific types of situations and specific road conditions.

KIA has planned to commercialize the stage 4 urban autonomous driving system by 2021. It
plans to develop and commercialize a complete set of autonomous driving technologies by the
year of 2030. In the coming years, as the competition in the automobile industry intensifies,
apart from safety and reliability of cars, the key differentiators will be technology based
including autonomous driving technologies. So, the brands that will develop superior
autonomous driving technologies will win in the global market.

Diversification and acquisitions:

Another method of achieving faster growth for Kia is to try diversification. Since it is in the
automobile industry, the company does not have much scope for diversification. Still, it can
expand into related business areas. Diversification can open new channels of growth for its
business. It can also help the company control some of its operating costs or utilize its existing
capabilities to grow its market share and revenue. KIA can also try backward integration to cut
down its operating costs. Apart from that, the brand can also achieve superior growth through

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acquisitions. Acquisitions can help it diversify into new markets, and technology-related
acquisitions can especially become the drivers of transformation for the brand.

Threats

Impact of the pandemic:

The pandemic had a severe negative impact on car sales in 2020. While it disrupted supply
chains and stalled production in the automobile sector across the world, the pandemic has also
brought some lasting changes to consumer behavior and market dynamics whose full impact is
not yet completely understood. The automobile businesses have also run into heavy losses due
to the pandemic. Now, as the impact of the pandemic is slowly coming under control,
automobile businesses are faced with several new questions related to supply chain, research
and development and truncated demand apart from profitable and unprofitable markets.

The demand conditions have changed fast and automobile companies in general and not just
Kia motors may need to address some troubling questions related to distribution. Overall, the
pandemic’s impact may take time to go away but automobile businesses, their suppliers and
distributors need to maintain business continuity. Overall, the automobile industry has been
through one of its toughest phases in this century. Achieving faster growth after the pandemic
will also be difficult for most because of the economic impact of the pandemic.

Economic fluctuations:

One of the key factors that affect the demand for automobiles, including SUVs and other cars
worldwide, is the global economy’s condition. If the global economy is healthy, it leads to good
car sales and higher revenue for automobile manufacturers. On the other hand, when the
economic conditions are poor in a specific market or throughout the world, car sales remain
lower since consumers generally avoid non-essential purchases during such times. The global
economy flourished before the pandemic, and key markets like the US, China, and India
enjoyed impressive GDP growth. However, the pandemic had a drastic impact on economies,
particularly during the lockdowns when millions worldwide lost their jobs. The pandemic
induced recession brought car sales down globally. With the global economy slowly returning
on track, companies are expecting superior car sales in 2021. Kia had managed to gain strong
sales despite the pandemic and the recession it caused. However, its sales could have been
even better if the pandemic had not caused the level of economic losses worldwide it did.

39
Limitations of SWOT Analysis for Kia Motors

Although the SWOT analysis is widely used as a strategic planning tool, the analysis does have
its share of limitations.

Certain capabilities or factors of an organization can be both a strength and weakness at the
same time. This is one of the major limitations of SWOT analysis . For example changing
environmental regulations can be both a threat to company it can also be an opportunity in a
sense that it will enable the company to be on a level playing field or at advantage to
competitors if it able to develop the products faster than the competitors.

SWOT does not show how to achieve a competitive advantage, so it must not be an end in
itself.

The matrix is only a starting point for a discussion on how proposed strategies could be
implemented. It provided an evaluation window but not an implementation plan based on
strategic competitiveness of Kia Motors

SWOT is a static assessment - analysis of status quo with few prospective changes. As
circumstances, capabilities, threats, and strategies change, the dynamics of a competitive
environment may not be revealed in a single matrix.

SWOT analysis may lead the firm to overemphasize a single internal or external factor in
formulating strategies. There are interrelationships among the key internal and external factors
that SWOT does not reveal that may be important in devising strategies.

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International Market
Kia America, Inc. was incorporated in California on October 21, 1992 and became the American
sales, marketing, and distribution arm of Kia Corporation. KMA is based in Irvine, California, and
currently offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 755 dealers throughout the
United States. The first two models that were introduced to the U.S. Market in 1993 were KIA
Sephia and Kia Sportage 4x4. In the United States, sales began in late 1993 for the 1994 model
year. The two models most recently introduced to the U.S. market have both been highly
awarded during the short time since their launch: the 2018 Stinger performance sedan gained
recognition with J.D. Power's inaugural Engineering Award for Highest Rated All-New
Vehicle[36] as well as Business Insider's Car of the Year Award,[37] then the 2020 Telluride
made its mark several times over by winning major awards from review organizations like
Kelley Blue Book,[38] MotorTrend,[39] Hispanic Motor Pressalso awarded the Telluride as the
best SUV for 2020, and most recently Edmunds.

As a brand, KMA has continued to improve over the years as well; in 2013, Kia Motors America
recorded its 18th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share, and for the past five
consecutive years (2015-2019) it has been recognized by J.D. Power as the highest ranked mass
market brand in initial quality.

In November 2009, Kia started production at the first U.S. Kia Motors plant, Kia Motors
Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point. Though the Kia Sorento crossover vehicle was the only
model to be assembled there at first, the facility has since expanded its production lines to
include the Kia Optima mid-size sedan in 2011 and the just-launched Kia Telluride crossover
SUV in January 2019. As of September 2019, the location has successfully built over 3 million
units of these three models altogether, and shortly after celebrated another milestone by
reaching its 10th year of production in November 2019. Currently, the facility has a production
capacity of 340,000 vehicles per year (largely dedicated to the Telluride and Sorento crossover
SUVs) and is responsible for distributing them to hundreds of dealerships in the US and Canada,
as well as fulfilling shipments across North America and even overseas.[

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Kia Mexico

The company has built a $1 billion manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo
León, which produces 300,000 cars a year. Details of the factory, built in the city of Pesquería,
were revealed in a joint press conference given by Kia CEO Hyoung-Keun Lee and the President
of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on August 28, 2014. The plant was expected to be
completed in the first half of 2016.[48] This factory is involved in controversies because it was
built on unevenly purchased land, and the construction agreement was made with advantage
conditions and out of the local dispositions to Kia.

Kia Europe

Kia Europe is the European sales and marketing division of Kia Corporation. It has been selling
cars in Europe since the first half of 1991.When Kia launched in Europe during 1991, it initially
sold only the Pride supermini—a rebadged version of the late 1980s Mazda 121. It initially
proved popular with buyers. By the end of 1991, Kia had sold nearly 1,800 Prides in the United
Kingdom. The first full year, 1992, saw that figure double, and, in 1993, it increased again to
nearly 5,500 units. However, sales fell towards the end of the decade, and the end of
production was finally announced in May 2000, with its successor – the Rio – not going on sale
for another year.

In 2007, KME moved from its previous location at Hauptstrasse 185, Eschborn (near Frankfurt),
to a new purpose-built facility adjacent to the Messe, in Frankfurt city centre.

From 1995 to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the first generation
Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. These have been popular across
Europe, but, since 2002, Kia has gained more sales in this market thanks to the launch of the
larger Sorento. From 1999 until production of the model ceased in 2003, all Sportage
production reverted to South Korea.

The European range also expanded in the spring of 1994 when Kia began importing the larger
Mentor, a range of medium-sized hatchbacks and sedans which were marketed as inexpensive
and well-equipped alternatives to the likes of the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall/Opel Astra.

42
A facelift in 1999 saw the Mentor name retained for the saloon (sedan), but the hatchback was
renamed Shuma. These models remained on sale until 2004, when the newer Cerato was
launched and gave Kia one of its first serious competitors against mainstream brands. The
Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia
begin its rise in popularity.

Despite Kia's range increasing from one car as late as 1993, to three cars by the end of 1995,
British sales actually decreased in that period, from nearly 5,500 in 1993 to less than 4,000 the
following year. In 1998, Kia's future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less
than 3,000 of its whole range – the worst in any full year on the British market. Kia did not enter
Europe's large family car market until the launch of its Clarus four-door sedan in 1999—a year
behind schedule due to the financial difficulties that Kia was facing before it was taken over by
Hyundai. This car was similar in size to the Ford Mondeo and the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, but, on
its launch, was actually less expensive to buy than the smaller Focus and the Astra. It had a
spacious interior, large boot, competitive asking price, and high equipment levels, but it had
little more appeal to sway buyers away from established European brands like Ford,
Vauxhall/Opel and Peugeot.

Its successor, the Magentis, launched in 2001, was still nowhere near as popular as Kia might
have hoped it would be, although with a sub-£14,000 asking price it offered the cheapest V6-
engined car in the UK, by which time it was rare enough for a six-cylinder car to be priced at less
than £20,000.

Kia entered the MPV market in 1999 with the Sedona. On its launch, it was the lowest-priced,
full-size people carrier on sale in the United Kingdom. With the range expanded by 1999, sales
for that year reached almost 6,400 – more than double the previous year's total. That annual
sales figure had almost been matched in 2000 by the end of May, reflecting Kia's growing
popularity with British buyers.[43] By 2009, Kia was firmly established as a popular brand in
Britain, when sales broke the 50,000 barrier for the first time and the brand now had a share of
more than 2% in the new car market. The Picanto was the most popular single model with
nearly 17,000 sales.

In late 2006, Kia opened its first own plant in Europe at a cost of approximately EUR 1.7 billion
in Žilina, Slovakia, in the village of TepličkanadVáhom, after construction between October 2004
and December 2005. It has since produced over 2.5 million units of the Kia Cee'd, Kia Sportage

43
and Kia Venga, as well as seven types of engines. In 2016, 339,500 cars and 612,915 engines
were manufactured. The area of the plant is 166 ha and Mobis Slovakia, the largest supplier, is
situated right on the carmaker's premises. In 2016, Kia Motors Slovakia recorded revenue of
EUR 5.56 billion. Although the European car market knows significant difficulties, Kia
announced increased sales in 2013.

Sales figures

Best-selling Kia models in 2019

RANK MODEL Global Sales

1 Sportage/KX5 487,098
2 Forte/Cerato/K3 319,025
3 Rio/K2 297,003
4 Picanto/Morning 223,580
5 Sorento 223,538
6 Optima/K5 198,138
7 Soul 153771
8 Ceed/XCeed 149,037
9 Niro 125219
10 Stonic/KX1 122,679

Nearing production capacity limit With its entire Indian portfolio doing very well in their
respective segments, Kia India’s Anantapur production facility is rolling out cars at a brisk rate.
The Seltos and Sonet have also generated huge amount of interest from several Kia subsidiaries
across the world and this should translate into a fast growing export operations for the Indian
subsidiary in the coming months. At this rate of growth in demand, Kia India will soon reach the
limit of its installed production capacity of 300,000 units per annum. The company has
previously hinted that it has room to increase the capacity at its existing facility before
exploring the possibility of setting up a second unit. Over INR 400 crore will be invested at the
Anantapur facility to increase the output to 450,000 units.

44
“Renault and Ford failed to keep up the product journey with their popular Duster and EcoSport
SUVs over years. M&M’s next generation Scorpio and XUV500, codenamed Z101 and W601
respectively, are delayed by a year due to the pandemic. This augurs well for the Korean
carmakers in a market driven by demand for SUVs despite Covid-19," said the second executive
mentioned above.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Meaning Of Research

Research may be very broadly defined as systematic gathering of data andinformation and its
analysis for advancement of knowledge in any subject.Research attempts to find answer
intellectual and practical questions throughapplication of systematic methods. Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary definesresearch as "studious inquiry or examination; esp: investigation or
experimentationaimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted
theories orlaws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revisedtheories
or laws". Some people consider research as a movement, a movementfrom the known to the
unknown.

It is actually a voyage of discovery. We all possess the vital instinct ofinquisitiveness for, when
the unknown confronts us, we wonder and ourinquisitiveness makes us probe and attain full
and fuller understanding of theunknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge
and the method,which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown,
can betermed as research.

Research is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledgemaking for its
advancement. It is the pursuit of truth with the help of study,observation, comparison and
experiment. In short, the search for knowledgethrough objective and systematic method of
finding solution to a problem isresearch. The systematic approach concerning generalization
and the formulationof a theory is also research. As such the term ‘research’ refers to the
systematicmethod consisting of enunciating the problem, formulating a hypothesis,
collectingthe facts or data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain conclusions either in
theform of solutions(s) towards the concerned problem or in certain generalizationsfor some
theoretical formulation.

46
Conclusion

In the year 2019, Kia India identified their rhythm for niche segment of the global market and
plans to enter theIndian market. Hyundai owns 33.88% share of Kia India15.The company
managed to enter in a competitivemarket such as the UK and was successful. The credit for
their success can be mainly owe to the huge network ofdealers the company has established.
Hyundai Kia scattered over 165 countries has 12 assembly linemanufacturing plants. It is the
fourth largest car OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in the world coveringover 166
dealerships. Every company for building its brand has a unique selling point (USP). Kia India
Corp. used their competitive pricing as USP in comparison to the other players in the market.
However, with passing years,it has intended to change this image of their brand to great brief-
about-qualityand design. This was done initially through sports sponsorship deals. In FIFA 2002
Kia was the sponsor and official FIFA partner.

Till the year 2022 it has gained sponsorship deals. Suchrevolutionary thinking backed with
sports sponsorship hashelped to amend their brand image just known forcompetitive pricing to
great quality and design. Further Kiahas also obtained cricket and tennis sponsorship deals.

Kia further promoted and enhanced its brand image of greatquality and design through seven-
year warranty on itsproducts. Their marketing strategy advanced adoptingAIDA concept.
Beginning from developing awareness intheir customers to captivating their attention,
thenstimulating their desire and finally, call in for action. In thismanner it influenced customers'
buying preferences. At thesame phase Kia's promotion strategies outstrip allmediocre
attempts. It not only grabs their customersattention through mass media tools as advertising,
onlineblogging, banners, etc. but also took various measures asdirect customer contact, sales
promotions and sponsorshipsas its below-the-line promotion strategies. Further, tostrengthen
relations with customers via online channel Kia India developed an online portal. Kia India also
lookforward for CSR initiatives and create awareness aboutvarious environmental issues. It has
partnership with Treesin Cities, intending to encourage people desire for plantingtrees. Hence
to stay ahead of the curve such extra measuresare essential for a company.

Kia IndiaIndia is now testing the Indian waters andabout to stride in knee deep with its own
unique style.Theoretically it seems that its previous experiencesupported with expertise, may
hold in the Indian market ifthe company closely continue with its values and ideals. Itis
interesting to analyse the entry of the company in Indiansoil as a success or failure in the
coming year.

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Bibliography

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