Sime Darby Motors Steers Kia Back Into Taiwan

Sime Darby Motors boosted its presence in the Asia Pacific region with its entry into Taiwan via its appointment as the official, sole and exclusive assembler of Kia passenger vehicles in the country.

Sime Darby Motors via its wholly owned subsidiary, Sime Darby Kia Taiwan Co., Ltd, has signed Technical License Agreements with Kia Motors Corporation to assemble CKD (Complete Knock Down) Kia passenger vehicles. 

Dato' Lawrence Lee, Executive Vice President of Sime Darby Motors, said, “This appointment marks another major accomplishment and is integral to our vision to become a leading automotive player in the Asia Pacific region.”

“The appointment by KMC is also a vote of confidence and a testament of our track record and reputation of achieving positive and sustainable growth alongside our strategic partners, as well as being driven in our commitment towards customer service excellence,” he added.

“Our operations in Taiwan are expected to commence by the second half of 2014 with the launch of the first two CKD models, Kia Picanto, a compact and affordable city car and Kia Carens, a mid-sized MPV. Subsequently, these two models will be complemented by the Kia Rio, another compact city car which has proven to be highly popular globally. The emphasis will be on the CKD segment due to its popularity in the Taiwanese market,” Dato’ Lawrence explained. 

Kia has been absent from the Taiwanese market since 2008 and Sime Darby Motors is confident of regaining the brand’s strong foothold in the country.

“Kia as a brand is re-entering the Taiwanese market in a more strategic manner as we are aware of the need to recapture the market’s attention. We plan to put in place a comprehensive marketing strategy to ensure that the brand is able to effectively connect to its customers, thus growing its market share in Taiwan,” Dato’ Lawrence said. 

According to the Taiwan Vehicle Manufacturers Association (TVMA), domestic vehicle sales for 2012 were recorded at 270,078 units, with the passenger car segment contributing 211,578 units.  Major automotive brands in Taiwan include Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Ford and Honda, which are also primarily assembled locally.