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

According to the latest financial report released by South Korea's Kia Company, by the end of the third quarter, Jiangsu Yueda Kia Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture in China, had total liabilities of 2.66 trillion won and assets of 1.93 trillion won. According to this calculation, Jiangsu Yueda Kia is insolvent, with an asset-liability ratio of 137.9%. It is understood that since Dongfeng Automobile Group withdrew from the joint venture, the company has been in a state of insolvency.

Retail data show that Yueda Kia sold 83875 vehicles in 2023, down 11.40% from 94668 in 2022. This level of sales can not even be compared with the new forces of mainstream car-building in China. In order to reverse the disadvantage, Kia has to turn to the global market and sell models made in China overseas in order to achieve high year-on-year growth. According to official data, Yueda Kia exported 86100 vehicles in 2023, an increase of 125% over the same period last year, and exported to more than 30 countries and regions, including the Middle East, Africa, North America, Central and South America, and the Asia-Pacific region.

At the same time, in order to cope with the difficulties of sales in China, Kia also began to launch new energy vehicles. In 2023, Kia listed EV5 and EV6 electric vehicles in China, of which EV6 is the first electric vehicle based on E-GMP platform. It was officially launched at the 2023 Chengdu Auto Show and sold in the Chinese market as an import. The official guiding price is 28.28-419800 yuan. The EV5 is the first domestic pure electric model, positioning compact SUV, and the third dedicated pure electric vehicle in the Kia electric vehicle product line, based on Kia electric vehicle platform E-GMP, with a price range of 14.98-174800 yuan.

According to the plan, from 2023, Yueda Kia will launch at least one pure electric vehicle in the Chinese market each year based on the electrified global modular platform E-GMP. A total of six EV models will be launched by 2027 and 180000 EV models will be sold annually by 2030. In 2024, Kia will bring its flagship SUV EV9, which is interesting because of its rear row, which has a 2-to-2-degree layout, and the second row of seats can be rotated 90 and 180 degrees, creating an interactive space inside the car. In 2025-2027, Kia will also introduce an entry-level all-electric SUV, a high-end electric car and a medium-sized all-electric SUV.

Judging from a series of performances, Kia will not only continue to focus on the Chinese market, but will also quickly launch the layout of the new energy sector, but Kia is more disciplined than the all-out efforts of its own brands. This is also close to the route of many other joint venture brands in China New Energy, which is not rash but will not stop completely.

Although sales in China are not satisfactory, Hyundai Motor Group still sold 7.3 million vehicles in the global market, of which Hyundai sold about 4.22 million and Kia sold about 3.08 million, ranking third in the world. Hyundai Motor Group attributed the sales bottleneck in the Chinese market to the three-year epidemic because it was unable to better understand the needs of the Chinese market.

Compared with some moribund brands, Korean cars still have a certain market foundation, including the supply strength of overseas groups, and there is still a chance to turn around. From the current market changes, Korean brands have gone out of two routes, on the one hand, Hyundai, Kia brand to high-end transformation, like Chinese brands, greatly improve the products, and targeted in the blank market. This is also accompanied by the elimination of old low-end models, and efforts to improve the brand image. On the other hand is the transformation of new energy, including power-generating electric vehicles and hydrogen-fueled vehicles. As the third largest automobile group in the world, with strong technical reserves and financial resources, it can quickly respond to market changes. Although Chinese brands have stood in the center of the new energy competition, the global market is the final journey.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat