Kia announced new details of its purpose and future ambitions during a digital presentation today. Along with its new brand slogan, “Movement That Inspires,” Kia revealed further details of a strategy through which the company will go beyond vehicle manufacturing to create sustainable mobility solutions for customers.
Signaling a shift away from the traditional manufacturing‑focused business model, the Kia brand also announced a new company name. By removing the word “Motors” from its name (formerly Kia Motors Corporation), Kia is expanding into new and emerging business areas by creating innovative mobility products and services that improve customers’ everyday lives.
“At Kia, we believe that transportation, mobility, and movement are a human right. Our vision is to create global sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities, and societies. Today, we begin to realize this vision by introducing our new brand direction and future strategy,” said Ho Sung Song, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kia Corporation.
The “Kia New Brand Presentation” can be viewed on Kia’s global YouTube channel on Friday, January 15, 2021, at 1:00 a.m. CET:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m6lFwFkLcY
Introducing Kia’s New Brand Direction and Slogan: “Movement That Inspires”
Kia’s new brand slogan, “Movement That Inspires,” was unveiled today as the core of the brand relaunch, reflecting Kia’s new direction to inspire customers through its products, services, and brand experiences.
Kia’s new brand purpose emphasizes that movement lies at the origin of human progress. Movement enables people to see new places, meet new people, and experience new things. This connection forms the essence of the new Kia brand—to enable human progress by providing innovative in‑vehicle spaces, exciting new products, and meaningful, convenient services that inspire customers and free up time for the activities they enjoy most.
Artur Martins, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Brand & Customer Experience at Kia, said:
“Movement has always been at the heart of our brand, and moving people is the foundation of our business. Movement helps humanity to continuously progress, improve, and evolve. That is why at Kia we believe that movement inspires ideas.”
Kia has operated in the “movement” industry for more than 75 years, having produced Korea’s first bicycles, manufactured motorcycles, and built commercial vehicles. Today, Kia is one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers, delivering high‑quality vehicles to millions of people around the globe.
As part of its new brand direction, Kia aims to meet changing customer expectations regarding how they move and the impact their movement has on the world around them. Consumers are increasingly seeking flexible, eco‑friendly, and integrated forms of transportation.
Kia’s new brand strategy is to respond to—and shape—these changing expectations by developing products and services that meet customer needs worldwide. These will provide improved access to a broader range of environmentally friendly mobility products and services, addressing growing global demand for flexible, adaptable, and personalized mobility solutions enabled by data and new technologies.
Expanded Vision of Kia Corporation for Sustainable Mobility
Reflecting its expanded mobility vision, Kia today announced its new corporate name as it expands into new business areas to support sustainable mobility. By removing “Motors” from its name, Kia also demonstrates its commitment to its long‑term business strategy, “Plan S.” Introduced in 2020, Plan S aims to establish Kia as a leader in the future mobility industry by expanding its business into electric vehicles, mobility solutions and services, purpose‑built vehicles, and more. Alongside these efforts, Kia will also promote sustainable manufacturing through the use of clean energy and recyclable materials.
Kia is focusing on popularizing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plans to strengthen its global product lineup by introducing seven new dedicated BEV models by 2027. These new models will include a range of passenger cars, SUVs, and MPVs across multiple segments, each featuring cutting‑edge long‑distance driving technology and high‑speed charging based on Hyundai Motor Group’s new Electric‑Global Modular Platform (E‑GMP).
Kia is also developing a range of new purpose‑built vehicles (PBVs) for corporate customers. These specialized vehicles will be based on flexible “skateboard” platforms with modular bodies designed to meet the specific mobility needs of a wide range of business and fleet customers. Partnerships with companies such as Canoo and Arrival will enable Kia PBVs to offer various body types mounted on an integrated modular skateboard platform tailored to users’ functional requirements.
Demand for PBVs is expected to increase up to fivefold by 2030 due to the rapid and sustained growth of e‑commerce and car‑sharing services. Kia’s custom‑built vehicles will be tailored to the needs of corporate and fleet customers and may include shared vehicles, low‑floor logistics vehicles, and delivery vehicles.
The company name change also signifies a transformation of Kia’s organizational culture. President Song explained:
“Changing our corporate name and logo is not merely a cosmetic improvement. It represents our expanding horizons as we establish new and emerging businesses that meet and exceed the diverse needs of our customers around the world. More importantly, it also requires adapting our working culture, enabling creativity among all employees, and creating an inspiring working environment.”
Development of Eco‑Friendly Mobility Services
Another strategic objective under Plan S is Kia’s commitment to diversifying its business and offering eco‑friendly mobility services focused on electric and autonomous driving in major global cities.
In addition, Kia is expanding cooperation and partnerships with global mobility solution providers and broadening mobility services in strategically important regions. In 2018, Kia invested in Grab, Southeast Asia’s largest ride‑hailing, food delivery, and payments company; and in March 2019, in Ola, an Indian company offering peer‑to‑peer ride‑sharing, taxi services, food delivery, and other mobility services.
Kia is also establishing additional mobility services, including WiBLE, a car‑sharing joint venture in Madrid with Repsol, a major Spanish energy company. Launched in September 2018, WiBLE operates 500 Kia Niro Plug‑in Hybrid EV (PHEV) vehicles, allowing users to freely rent and return cars within the service area. WiBLE remains one of Europe’s most successful shared‑mobility systems, with more than 130,000 registered members since its launch. In September 2020, a new service called KiaMobility was launched in Italy and Russia to accelerate Kia’s transformation into a mobility solutions provider. KiaMobility will be introduced in additional markets in the coming years.
Coming Soon: Kia’s First Dedicated BEV and New Design Philosophy
The first next‑generation Kia BEV models will be unveiled in the first quarter of 2021, embodying Kia’s shifting focus toward electrification. This dedicated BEV model, based on the new E‑GMP technology, features a crossover‑inspired design, offers an electric driving range of more than 500 kilometers, and supports high‑speed charging in less than 20 minutes. It will also be the first global model to feature Kia’s new logo.
With its expanding BEV lineup, Kia aims to achieve a 6.6% share of the global BEV market by 2025 and global annual sales of 500,000 BEV vehicles by 2026.
In the coming weeks, Kia will also reveal more details about the new design direction of its future products and services, guided by a new design philosophy that reflects the brand’s transformation.
Karim Habib, Senior Vice President and Head of Kia Global Design Center, explained:
“We want our products to deliver instinctive and natural experiences that can improve our customers’ everyday lives. Our goal is to design the physical experience of our brand and create original, intelligent, and exciting electric vehicles. The ideas of our designers and the brand’s purpose are more closely connected than ever before, with our customers at the center of everything we do.”
