AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/03 Report--

On March 3, Automotive Industry concern learned from Kia Automotive's official website that it launched a time-limited car purchase gift for Lion Platinum extension models. If a car is purchased before March 1-March 31, 2023, it can enjoy a comprehensive discount of up to 30000 yuan for time-limited car purchase, and the direct purchase price is as low as 149800 yuan.

It is understood that the Lion Platinum extension will be officially launched on November 3, 2022, positioning the compact SUV, which can be regarded as the replacement model of Kia KX5. In terms of power, Lion Platinum extension provides three power options: 1.5T+8AT, 2.0T+8AT and 2.0L HEV+6AT. Among them, 1.5T turbocharged four-cylinder engine has a maximum power of 200 horsepower and a maximum torque of 253 Nm, while a 2.0T turbocharged four-cylinder engine has a maximum power of 234 horsepower and a maximum torque of 353 Nm. In terms of transmission system, they all match 8-speed manual self-integrated gearbox.

Lion Platinum extension is the fifth generation of Kia Sportage models, the second generation, the third generation and the fourth generation have been introduced into domestic production and sales by Dongfeng Yueda Kia, named Lion run, Zhirun and KX5 respectively. According to the product iteration information, KX5 is the replacement model of Zhirun, and Zhirun is the replacement of Lion running, but Zhirun did not replace Lion running after its launch, but adopted the method of selling in the same room until after the listing of KX5, production and sales were suspended because Lion ran could not keep up with the development of the times. However, Dongfeng Yueda Kia launched a new generation of smart running in April 2018 and the Ace in July 2021, which is a special Kia China model.

In November 2022, the KX5 replacement model, Lion Platinum Tuojie, was officially launched, directly transliterated by Sportage, and is currently the only car in Kia with a four-character name.

The Lion Platinum extension comes from the direct transliteration of Sportage, and it is the only Kia model with a four-word name, with a long and mouthful product name. As a compact SUV, the price of the Lion Platinum extension has risen across the board compared with the KX5 model, with the highest price of the fuel version reaching 234800 yuan, higher than Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and other models. According to the retail data of the Federation of passengers, since its listing in October 2022, Lion Platinum's sales have basically remained in the triple digits, with a cumulative sales of 1242 vehicles until January 2023. The market performance is not objective.

Of course, it also has something to do with Kia's performance in the Chinese market. The insurance figures show that Asia has sold 94345 vehicles in China since 2022, down 40.5 per cent from a year earlier, with the Freddy being the top seller, up 4.2 per cent to 19758, a model that sells for less than 100000 yuan. According to the official website, the current Kia SUV models for sale include Lion Platinum Development, Smart run, Pride run and Yi run, and the KX5 has been removed.

In the domestic market, the sense of existence of Korean brands is far less than that of German and Japanese brands, and with the increasing strength of Chinese brands, it directly leads to the survival crisis of Kia, Hyundai and other brands that focus on low-cost models, and their market share falls again and again. Survival will be more difficult in the future. By the end of the third quarter, Jiangsu Yueda Kia Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture in China, had total liabilities of 227.92 million won (12.2 billion yuan) and assets of 212.4 million won (11.3 billion yuan), according to Kia Q3 financial reports. According to this calculation, Yueda Kia is insolvent, with an asset-liability ratio of 107.3%.

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