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In a Nov. 17 internal video received via the broadcaster, a Kia regional manager, at the behest of Kia Canada executives, tells Ontario dealers that “with the global slowdown,” Kia Canada “wants to control wholesale and retail functionality” through owning vehicles in 2023 “so as not to show excessive functionality” in sales.
This is pretty much the opposite of how most automakers operate: they will push hard for sales and deliveries, especially as the end of the year approaches, so they can brag about the number of consumers who have chosen their brand and, of course, the profits made. all of these. Cars don’t hurt either.
But in the video, the executive says he doesn’t need to sell too many cars, because if that happens, Kia’s South Korean headquarters would possibly not allocate the “additional marketing budget” that the Canadian subsidiary needs for 2024. Canadians have already bought 84,000 Kia cars this year, and exceeding that figure may simply mean wasting the extra money needed for next year to convince others to buy a Kia as well.
He also stressed that the message about not delivering the vehicles came from Kia Canada—we’re taking that to mean that he wasn’t told to do this from the mothership in Seoul.
The new cars will be available at Kia dealerships in Ontario, and reportedly many others across the country, as part of a moot plan by Kia Canada to rival 2023 sales figures. https://t. co/HKtJLptp8WArray
Unsurprisingly, CBC got no reaction when it asked Kia Canada for comment, nor did it come to the fore head. He showed a photo of a huge complex south of Kitchener, Ontario, filled with vehicles. It’s not entirely clear if the car garage is just for Ontario or nationwide, however, CBC said there are “supposedly” other similar complexes across Canada. The director told dealers that “only a few” cars would be announced and the rest would remain until 2024.
Like all automakers, Kia has had a rough road with ongoing supply chain issues similar to COVID-19, as well as a two-week strike at the Port of Vancouver last summer that affected vehicle shipments. And according to the video, that’s what the manager told dealers to tell their customers: that there have been “delivery delays and logistical delays at Kia Canada. “
Experts say that Kia customers have faced long wait times in the past, but this seems to be the first time that it’s due to the automaker squirrelling away stock that’s otherwise ready to go to new homes. And when it finally does start releasing those captives, then in addition to the time needed to ship all the vehicles on hold, any lingering supply issues will continue the cycle. It looks like it could be a while before everyone who wants a Kia actually manages to get a Kia.
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