Kia Plans to Change Its Models' Names

Kia goes back to drawing board

Public perception is success's middle name in this crisis driven world and car manufacturers try all types of strategies to get back on track. While Citroen is rebranding its image by making use of the company's famous DS line, Kia is considering renaming all of its models to give the brand a better public perception, Autonews reported.

According to Kia officials, their customers average 52 years of age, not exactly the market segment its vehicles are intended for. The Japanese manufacturer will try to tap into the "much younger segment" of the market and it thinks it cannot do so by using its range's current names.

"We want to leave the old baggage behind. A lot of people don't know who we are anyway. So why not come out with new names like Forte?" Michael Sprague, Kia's vice president of marketing asked, making reference to the name given by Kia to the redesigned Spectra.

Kia plans on investing more money into interactive messaging and social networking. To support their financial effort, Kia will try to attract its dealers into the new marketing scheme. If dealers advertise, they will get the 2 percent ad fee back (instead of the previous $200 to $350 fee) when they order a new vehicle.

The company did manage to gain some market share over the first two moths of the year, moving up from 2.1 percent in fall of 2008 to 3.3 percent, despite the 41.4 percent overall sales drop registered in February.

In case you are among those who don't know who Kia or its models are, here are some of the models you can find at your local US Kia dealership: Borrego, Sedona, Amanti, Rio, Rondo, or Optima.