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The happenings about Kia Autosport
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Kia Looks to Add Workers in Georgia
IRVINE, Calif.—Kia Motors Corp. is preparing to add a third shift at its plant in Georgia that makes the Sorento sport-utility vehicle, U.S. executives said.
The South Korean car maker is taking applications for the position at its West Point, Georgia plant, but hasn't finalized the move. The same plant also makes the Hyundai Santa Fe. Kia is partially owned by Hyundai and shares engineering and some manufacturing, but has separate sales and marketing.
"We are looking at a third shift, at hiring employees to be prepared for a third shift if demand should continue to run," said Tom Loveless, vice president for sales at Kia Motors America in an interview.
The Sorento made up about 30% of Kia's sales last year, but the newly redesigned Optima sedan is selling very well, helping to boost the company's U.S. sales up 31% this year so far and increase its market share.
Optima sales are up 54% through the first two months of the year. Kia is gaining market share and was one of three brands, including Subaru and Hyundai, that increased sales during the steep drop in U.S. demand in 2009.
The plant in Georgia, which was finished in February 2010, can build cars, but there are no plans right now to move production from Korea, where all of Kia's other vehicles are produced, Mr. Loveless said.
Demand for Kia's vehicles globally may constrain the company's ability to supply cars if the U.S. market grows beyond 13.5 million units this year, he said.
The South Korean car maker is taking applications for the position at its West Point, Georgia plant, but hasn't finalized the move. The same plant also makes the Hyundai Santa Fe. Kia is partially owned by Hyundai and shares engineering and some manufacturing, but has separate sales and marketing.
"We are looking at a third shift, at hiring employees to be prepared for a third shift if demand should continue to run," said Tom Loveless, vice president for sales at Kia Motors America in an interview.
The Sorento made up about 30% of Kia's sales last year, but the newly redesigned Optima sedan is selling very well, helping to boost the company's U.S. sales up 31% this year so far and increase its market share.
Optima sales are up 54% through the first two months of the year. Kia is gaining market share and was one of three brands, including Subaru and Hyundai, that increased sales during the steep drop in U.S. demand in 2009.
The plant in Georgia, which was finished in February 2010, can build cars, but there are no plans right now to move production from Korea, where all of Kia's other vehicles are produced, Mr. Loveless said.
Demand for Kia's vehicles globally may constrain the company's ability to supply cars if the U.S. market grows beyond 13.5 million units this year, he said.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Kia Soul Named #5 Coolest Car Under $18,000
The 2010 Kia Soul combines the versatility of a sub-compact cargo van, the confident style of a bull dog fashion model and tech-friendliness rivaling the Geek Squad's. It's one modern mix of cool, with a standard equipment list that includes Bluetooth phone connectivity, an auxiliary audio input and iPod integration.
http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/coolest-cars-5
Friday, March 11, 2011
2011 Egg Drop!
In case you missed it, the dealership hosted a dealership wide egg drop last Friday. Melanie split up the entire dealership into teams of two and they were then instucted to construct a box of 6" by 6" that would hold the egg.
Let me be the first to say, we were all surprised how seriously most of the teams took this task. Some of the boxes were filled entirely with jello, garbage, styrofoam, gel beads, and most importantly...peanut butter. We have a full album posted on facebook. Please go look!
The twenty-one teams were split into 5 heats, and so it began. 1PM rolled around faster than any of us expected, and so began the measuring and handing out of the eggs.
The majority of the teams passed the first drop, so we quickly moved onto a higher drop to knock out more teams' containers.
Personally, I was nervous that we were going to be there all afternoon trying to get some of these containers to break.
Thankfully, Melanie attends crossfit (a local gym), so she was able to begin putting a lot more effort into the throws in hopes of getting some of these eggs to break!
Finally, with the help of Omar George, one of our sales associates, who began throwing them against the wall (see the video..it will make more sense.) We were able to call a tie! Dwayne & Tony Mac with their "Princess" Box and Darren & Joe Prez with their "Peanut Butter" Box were the reigning champs!
See our facebook page for pictures & videos!
Let me be the first to say, we were all surprised how seriously most of the teams took this task. Some of the boxes were filled entirely with jello, garbage, styrofoam, gel beads, and most importantly...peanut butter. We have a full album posted on facebook. Please go look!
The twenty-one teams were split into 5 heats, and so it began. 1PM rolled around faster than any of us expected, and so began the measuring and handing out of the eggs.
The majority of the teams passed the first drop, so we quickly moved onto a higher drop to knock out more teams' containers.
Personally, I was nervous that we were going to be there all afternoon trying to get some of these containers to break.
Thankfully, Melanie attends crossfit (a local gym), so she was able to begin putting a lot more effort into the throws in hopes of getting some of these eggs to break!
Finally, with the help of Omar George, one of our sales associates, who began throwing them against the wall (see the video..it will make more sense.) We were able to call a tie! Dwayne & Tony Mac with their "Princess" Box and Darren & Joe Prez with their "Peanut Butter" Box were the reigning champs!
See our facebook page for pictures & videos!
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