In China, there is a brand that is seriously underestimated. It is the world's youngest Top 5 car company-Hyundai Motor Kia. According to statistics, in 2020, Hyundai Motor and Kia sold 6.35 million vehicles in a year, ranking fourth in the world, followed by GM, Ford, Honda and other Japanese and American automakers.

　　In addition, in various authoritative awards, Kia also dominates the list all the year round, including in mature auto markets such as Europe and the United States. In 2020, Kia won the "Best Car of the Year in North America", successively won the JDPower new car quality mainstream brand championship, won the JDPower Vehicle Reliability Research (VDS) mainstream brand championship and many other top awards, showing design, technology, International first-class strength in all fields such as quality.

　　Facing the new market environment and competitive landscape, in 2021, Kia carried out a comprehensive brand renewal. While refreshing the speed of global development, Kia has been deeply involved in the Chinese market and simultaneously launched a brand renewal, trying to break through the blockade of previous strong brands and return to the mainstream track. The most impressive is Kia’s unique pioneering spirit and resilience.

　　What is the confidence to "make another leap"? Always attach importance to China, pioneers decisively initiate brand reshaping

　　In the current auto market, the three tracks of "fuel, new energy, and smart technology" are going hand in hand, with new and old car-making forces taking turns, and the degree of innovation and complexity of the market is unprecedented. Under the alternation of the old and the new, there are really only a few big car companies that can completely revolutionize.

　　Kia, who is proactive and seeking change, is just such a minority. Facing the new market environment, Kia aimed at the New Kia strategy. At the beginning of this year, it changed the company name and LOGO, and released a new brand concept and slogan ("Movement that inspires"). The business map is no longer limited to cars, but to move into the future. Brand transformation.

　　The sword refers to the global Kia, and the new strategy is even more ambitious. In the face of the world's number one automobile consumer market, Kia naturally regards increasing its influence and market share in China as a key point. On April 15th, Hyundai Motor and Kia held a "Leap Forward and More China" strategy conference, and put forward four core strategies to promote future development. This is not only Hyundai Motor and Kia’s high attention to the Chinese market, but also revealed its A signal to occupy a global leading position in the future mobile travel era. Almost at the same time, Dongfeng Yueda Kia released a new LOGO at the Shanghai Auto Show, accelerating the transition to electrification, and indicated that it will transform into a trend-leading mobile travel brand that continuously inspires customer inspiration. This opened the prelude to breaking the circle and rebranding.

　　"The value of beauty is justice" era, why break the circle and attract fans? A new generation of design language, the new story of the trend leader

　　The most intuitive manifestation of a brand's remodeling is the earth-shaking renewal of the product's appearance. When the post-90s consumers accounted for half of the car buying group, the TAs who were born with "face control" also made cars "eat on their faces." Now, how good is Kia's appearance? Why do you break the circle of young people, enter the game of young people, and express your attitude to become the first choice of young people? From Kia's emphasis on design and a new generation of design language, the answer can be foreseen.

　　I have to admit that good looks have always been a major label of Kia. Peter Cyrill once led Kia to lead a generation of design trends. In March of this year, Kia released the EV6, the first exclusive electric model with a new design concept "Opposites United".

　　Kia’s new design concept deduced by EV6 draws inspiration from the contrast between nature and humanity. The essence is to bring a new visual image that awakens enterprising power and natural energy. It makes the sharp style elements and sculpture shapes contrast and collide, which is very impressive. Shocked.

　　The three design studios of Kia Nanyang (Korea), Frankfurt (Germany) and Irvine (California, USA) are well-deserved for the cooperation of the three major design studios, and EV6 is indeed a powerful demonstration of the "Power to Progress" design spirit. From the EV6, it can be seen that Kia Design, under the guidance of its accumulated superb ideas and knowledge, has made breakthroughs at full speed. A design leading development road of "studying the future and surpassing oneself" has begun, and a design of "breaking the circle and attracting fans" has begun. The aircraft carrier set sail at full speed.

　　Where is the way forward? Brand high-end, a firm choice for the tough

　　Whether it can be completely high-end is the touchstone to test the rebranding. Nowadays, luxury brand prices are dropping and independent brands are attacking upwards. Joint venture brands in the middle have two options. The way down is to simultaneously drop prices and luxury brands, and to exchange price for volume; the way up is to push for high-end products. Many brands choose to take both paths, but for any company, resources and energy are limited. Taking both paths means that it is difficult to truly achieve high-end. And Dongfeng Yueda Kia firmly embarked on the "high-end" one-way street, showing the tenacity and courage of the top Korean style.

　　In 2020, Dongfeng Yueda Kia announced that it will no longer launch new models of less than 100,000 yuan in the future, the brand will be transformed and upgraded to high-end, and the flagship sedan Kaiku (K5) will be launched globally. In the same year, the sales of strategic models of more than 100,000 yuan increased by 17.9% year-on-year, accounting for 77%; the average sales unit price also increased by 21,000 yuan. The increase in product sales structure, the advancement of brand value, and the implementation of China's priority are more sustainable than the simple increase in sales, and lay a solid foundation for the follow-up development of Dongfeng Yueda Kia.

　　In 2021, the high-end will speed up again. When SUVs become the highlight of the auto market's recovery, especially high-quality joint venture SUVs ignite the demand for mid-to-high-end SUVs, how can Dongfeng Yueda Kia, which has built many star SUVs, miss the opportunity? In the second half of this year, Dongfeng Yueda Kia will launch the smart running Ace in China to better meet the new demands of consumption upgrades. As Kia’s first mass-produced car equipped with the new standard in China, the smart running Ace has shown the greatest sincerity: the appearance is tough and sharp, and the visual impact is bursting; large space, L2+ level ADAS intelligent driving assistance system, Baidu Smart Interconnection 3.0, The world's original CVVD technology 1.5T high-performance engine, 200 horsepower maximum output, all of them are the strongest in their class.

　　The MPV market is the largest incremental market in 2020. Always keep an eye on the market and consumer needs. In the second half of the year, Dongfeng Yueda Kia will launch Kia’s high-quality flagship MPV, the fourth-generation Jiahua. The fourth-generation Jiahua is built on the highest level in the world. It not only has the tough and atmospheric design of SUV, but also takes into account the flexible and practical large space of MPV. At the same time, it has dual 12.3-inch integrated screens and Baidu Intelligent Interconnection System 3.0. And L2+ level intelligent driving assistance system, etc., give a more convenient and intelligent car experience, which are the strengths of this MPV market disruptor.

　　Next year, Dongfeng Yueda Kia will launch a new flagship SUV, while considering the introduction of Kia’s top global flagship model sales, firmly moving towards the high-end brand.

　　Technical strength can compete with Japan and Germany? From computing power to horsepower full PK, the future has already seen signs

　　Technology first is the soul of a rebranding. Especially when China's auto market has matured and entered a new stage where high quality is the foundation and technology is the core, auto companies will be able to show their technical strength at this time with less effort.

　　Since its establishment, Kia has been focusing on technology research and development. Judging from the world’s most convincing and concerned “Ward’s Top Ten Engines” list, Hyundai Motor·Kia has topped the “Ward’s Top Ten” list 12 times in total, 2014 It has been shortlisted for 6 consecutive years since 1999, and is one of the most shortlisted brands. It must be pointed out that in addition to the internal combustion engine, Hyundai Motor·Kia’s award-winning powertrain also includes various powertrains such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid vehicles. In short, Kia has technical strength comparable to Japanese and German. Now, what Kia wants to solve is how to engrave the image of a powerful technological brand into the hearts of the Chinese people and give the strongest assistance to the rebranding?

　　At the Shanghai Auto Show that just ended recently, Dongfeng Yueda Kia’s "second answer" was very meaningful. The fourth-generation CVVD technology of the first smart running Ace mass-produced car was rated as "the biggest technological advancement in the engine field in the past 30 years", empowering Kia's unique global 1.5T high-performance engine, increasing its performance by 4% , Fuel efficiency is improved by 5%, exhaust emissions are reduced by 12%, and the maximum output is as high as 200 horses. Among compact SUVs, this is a god-level index that can stand out from the crowd. Whether it is the Japanese Qashqai or the German Tuyue, they are not as fierce as the Smart Running Ace. The driving experience brought by high-horsepower is subversive. It allows young people to no longer be locked in the steel jungle of the city, but to connect to the broader nature and feel the "call of the wild."

　　In the new decade, Kia New Energy's magnificent territory in China has gradually surfaced. At the Shanghai Auto Show, Kia's E-GMP (Electrified Global Module Platform) shines with the world's highest level of electric vehicle research and development capabilities. Chinese consumers will also benefit, because in the future, Dongfeng Yueda Kia will no longer launch "oil-to-electric" electric vehicles, and all electric vehicles will be developed based on the E-GMP dedicated platform. The EV6, a dedicated electric vehicle that made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show, will soon be introduced to the country, bringing an exciting green travel experience to Chinese people.

　　Horsepower is the key word of powertrain, and computing power is the key word of intelligent technology. The left hand "horsepower", the right hand "calculation power", Kia all "all in". By 2025, the intelligent network application of Dongfeng Yueda Kia models will reach 80%, and the application proportion of ADAS intelligent driving system will reach 60%. Kia and Baidu Apollo have in-depth cooperation and will also build a new platform model for autonomous driving. At present, Kia’s latest "Baidu Intelligent Interconnection 3.0 System", L2+ level DRIVE WiSE (ADAS) intelligent driving assistance system, covers all aspects of vehicle usage scenarios, and has leapt to the forefront of joint ventures.

　　The "big change" of brand remodeling is born out of Kia's global strength, and it also comes from Dongfeng Yueda Kia's tailor-made leading design for the Chinese market, representing high-end subversive new cars, and capable of competing or even surpassing the Japanese and Germans. technology. In this massive reshaping battle, in the baptism of the market, Kia's new positioning and new characteristics in China will become clearer. It's time to get to know Kia again.