India’s automotive industry has been badly hit by Corona Virus and the government’s lockdown protocol to contain its spread
Major automotive brands in India have announced many support initiatives to assist the medical department in the fight against COVID-19. The Indian automotive industry, as well as several other businesses, is going through the worst of times in recent history due to the outbreak and the lockdown measures it brought about. While OEMs are trying new business strategies to minimise losses, many dealerships are on the verge of shutting down forever.
Recognising the situation, Kia Motors India has come forward to assist its dealer partners. The assistance has been categories into four sections: (1) Support on inventory – interest cost of physical and transit dealer stock; (2) Reversal of inventory funding – unutilised dealer funds with the company will be remitted back to the respective dealers; (3) Warranty and NVI claims – all approved service claims will be credited to respective dealer accounts and; (4) Extended warranty payments – pending warranty payments will be cleared and priority invoice clearance will be done within 15 days post lockdown.
Commenting about the support initiatives, Mr Kook-Hyun Shim, MD & CEO of Kia Motors India stated that the company’s dealer partners are one of the key pillars of its success story. Hence, the South Korean brand is committed to providing them with all the necessary support in this tough period. He further added that “dealer viability and stability” are at the core of this support initiative.
Kia Motors India is also focusing on online platforms to enable customers to book their Kia with minimal physical interactions. Deliveries of models sold online will commence only after the lockdown (which currently extends to 3 May 2020). The company has provided a detailed guideline to its dealer partners to provide a safe environment during the delivery process. Alongside, 50,000 masks have been issued.
Kia Motors India has donated Rs 2 crore to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Relief Fund while also supplying one lakh masks. To spread the message of social distance, the company has released a video campaign dubbed as #RewindKia. All its offices and dealerships are temporarily shut down while free warranty service periods have been extended by two months.
With just two products on sale (Seltos crossover and Carnival minivan), Kia Motors has created a strong statement on the market for a newcomer. The automaker is working on its new Sonet subcompact crossover to take on the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Hyundai Venue. The Kia Sonet debuted in a concept format at Auto Expo 2020.
