Kia

[Guest]

A simple question.........Can Kia become bigger in the UK than Ford?

If they keep turning out great cars, with 7 year warranties, is there any reason why not? 

[James Baggott 227]

I think they're more likely to be challenging Ford in the not too distant future than Vauxhall will. Their products are more innovative, more exciting, their dealers better and their drive and desire greater. I think the automotive landscape will look very different in the next 10 years.

[Guest]

I think a telling sign will be the brand loyalty in the years to come. 

[Jamie Edmonds 28]

I think as the default choice for someone who sees their car as a domestic appliance the Koreans are already there, just look at the scrappage scheme numbers.

 

Ford and Vauxhall are in a bit of a limbo I think, not able to challenge VW or the premium brands for desirability, more expensive than the Koreans and with Renauly and Peugeot starting to build desirable cars again, and Dacia (and even MG) coming in at the budget end of the market they are getting squeezed all over.  The saving grace for Ford is that they make nice cars which are good to drive and that's enough to sway some buyers, and I can't say the same about Vauxhall right now...

[Guest]

I have to say I like the style of the Kia's too (for the most part)

The Pro CEE'D GT is a beautiful car and a great drive (that's before we talk value for money and seven year warranties)

 

Ford are starting to produce some great looking cars too, which will probably mean they retain a lot of their brand loyalty. The Focus, Fiesta and Mondeo ranges will always attract buyers for a whole host of reasons.

 

Vauxhall really need to up their game to stay at number two spot. 

[James Baggott 227]

I'm starting to think a long warranty is the best thing manufacturers can offer. Why? Because when something goes wrong - which it has on my Kia - you're not particularly bothered because you know it'll be fixed for free. It means things that would annoy others simply don't in a Kia because it gets done under warranty. And for seven years!

It's a master stroke of marketing if you ask me...

[Guest]

I would hazard a guess that many Kia owners will keep their cars for just under seven years, go out buy another one and start all over again.

Will we see other manufacturers follow suit with their warranties? 

[Jamie Edmonds 28]

James, isn't there also a school of thought that extending the warranty to five or seven years means people keep their car longer than they otherwise would, which means less chance for a dealer to sell them a replacement after three years as they might have done in the past?  Obviously with the never-ending rise of PCP finance this risk is mitigated slightly but with 48 month agreements and five year warranties is it not just reducing the number of customers in market at any given time?

[James Baggott 227]

PCP are now the most popular forms of finance - some 75 odd per cent I think at last count. That's far more likely to get people back in to change. I think the long warranties just show confidence in product and the fact they're transferable to used car buyer is even better. 

[Gavin@Rousdon 137]

Longer warranties should help second hand values too. Lots of dealer offer their own warranties now and whilst not the most glamorous car a 5 year old Kia with FSH and 2 years warranty left should make used Kia's appealing to the trade.

[Andy Entwistle 96]

We've recently had all the latest crop of hatches in. I still think the Focus is the most comprehensively developed, but the Kia is easily as good as the Hyundai and Toyota and (in my view) better than the current crop of cars the French manufacturers are offering..

 

They may never beat ford here due to brand loyalty, but I think they will ( and are) stealing customers from the French hand over first !