Kia's Making Waves to Connect with African Americans, Too

Jeff Fortson poses with Kia assembly workers in West Point, Georgia.

While other automakers are scrambling to stay alive in this tough economy, Kia, Hyundai's little sister, is making a name for itself. Sales for the Korean automaker last month were up a whopping 45% and 7% respectively, in October and year-to-date in an economy where the entire auto industry was down by about 4% and 25% respectively, last month and year-to-date , when compared to the same period last year.

Kia, who was once known for engineering shoddy vehicles at a low price, have moved into a different league these days, building reliable sporty rides. Just this year along, they have introduced three stellar new vehicles: the funky looking Soul; the compact-size, big car riding Forte sedan; and the cool looking Forte Koupe. And early next year they will be shipping the value priced Sorento seven passenger crossover to dealers from their first American plant, which is located about 70 miles outside of Atlanta.

Kia's value priced, fuel-efficient vehicles are not only connecting with the mainstream market, but with the African American market, too. So far this year, this brand ranks number four in market share with this demographic. Up until recently, Kia hadn't really place much emphasis on this segment, basically focusing on the general market and the Hispanic market.

However, in a surprising move, after discounting the African American market for years, the automaker, which is now under new leadership, recently announced in an a national marketing meeting held in Atlanta last week, that they were committed to spend advertising dollars with the African American market, too. More importantly, while visiting Kia's assembly plant last week there were a number of African Americans working in the plant. While we were unable to access the official numbers from Kia's public relations plant manager, the Korean automaker is definitely making steps in the right direction to be a true player in the American market.