Kia is not big enough to warrant development of either a performance sub-brand or its own luxury spin-off like its sister operation in Hyundai. But nor does it need to.
That is the view of the two men guiding the South Korean brand in new directions, design chief Peter Schreyer and engineering boss Albert Biermann, even though the company revealed a genuinely sport GT car, the five-door, twin-turbo V6-powered Stinger GT at the 2017 Detroit motor show this week.
"I don't know if we need it," Schreyer told Australian media after the Stinger's official reveal.
"I think Kia is mature enough to have a car like [the Stinger] but I'm not so sure on any sub brands. And I don't think it is fair to look at Genesis as a sub brand anymore either; we look at it like Kia, Hyundai and Genesis as three distinct brands under the Hyundai motor group.
"I think this is a game changer for Kia, and it's important that it is a Kia. There are also other cars that are changing the game, but this is another strong statement from us."
Biermann agreed, and added there is scope to further enhance the driving character of its cars but whether they more focus more on sporty dynamics or overall comfort was very much aligned to the individual car's intended purpose and its audience.
"I think that [that] depends a lot on the model - if it's important for the model or not," he said.
"We have all sorts of different character in the Kia line-up and depending on the mission of the car, the driving performance is very important or is not so much important.
"[Kia is] not necessarily more sporty [than sister brand Hyundai or Genesis] but younger maybe and not so traditional..."
While he stopped short of confirming any desire to create a hard-core hot hatch in the same vein that Hyundai is developing through its upcoming N Performance division with the next-generation i30 hatch, Biermann admitted he has earmarked improvements for cars like the Soul and the Pro_C'eed GT, the latter of which was dropped from Kia Australia's lineup in late 2015 following lacklustre sales despite critical acclaim for the sporty hatch.
He told Drive, and other Australian media, at the Detroit show that he envisages the next-gen Pro_C'eed GT will be available with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission for the first time , which opens up the likelihood of its return to Australia as Kia cited the lack of any automatic option was a catalyst behind its demise.
2 Comments
DJM61 | 2017-01-11 03:14:26
Kia already is a sub brand of Hyundai. The first-generation Hyundai Genesis sold only 250,000 units worldwide. Second genaration is not exactly setting the world on fire. As Infiniti et al have found it is not easy to repeat Toyota's success with Lexus. Hyundai make great reliable cars but should remember simple is purer than complex. I would ditch the Genesis brand.
Circling Buzzard | 2017-01-11 22:46:30
DJ 61 nailed it.. This is a terribly hard segment to get a foothold in.Lexus in Oz sold just over 9000 units in 2016.. that is despite making vehicles that constantly prove to have less faults than the Euro competition. Jaguar despite having arguably the best looking vehicles and some wonderful reviews sells around 3000 P.A in Oz, Introducing a new marquee brand is a hard unrewarding slog in our small market. So much so that some dealers have either gone broke or handed back the franchise to avoid bankruptcy. Kia are making really good units and this will enhance their growing reputation as more buyers drive out of showrooms.Stick to what you do best.:)