Kia Confident That Soul Will Rule the UK Market

Talking about the all-new Soul supermini scheduled to arrive into the UK in February 2009, Kia's managing director Paul Philpott expressed his confidence that this new model could help the South Korean company increase its annual sales by several grands. Kia has a goal of 33,000 sold vehicles for 2009, an 1,500 unit increase from the figures they hope to reach this year. According to Just-auto, Kia's market share was increased to 1.5 percent in 2008, with Philpott very optimistic that the South Korean company has the potential to reach 3 percent by 2012.

"Supply and stock management of the car will be important. I want to create demand," he said, explaining that these are the main attributed that could help Kia increase its market presence.

Although Kia hasn't yet unveiled the new Soul's pricing, the 1.6-liter petrol variant will be available for prices between 11,000 and 14,000 pounds, according to the aforementioned source.

What's interesting is that Kia Soul will have a single rival at the time of its release, with Suzuki SX4 the only model targeting the same segment of customers. Nevertheless, Philpott admits that although the Soul will have a smooth evolution on the market after its launch, sales will decrease a bit when Nissan launches Cube and Toyota brings out Urban Cruiser.

The all-new Soul will represent the ninth model in Kia's UK lineup and local dealerships started showing increased interest in models provided by the South Korean company. According to Just-auto, existing dealers are now aiming to add a second or a third showroom while others simply want to include Kia's models in their offering, a clear sign that underlines Kia's good evolution on the British market.