Kia is returning to its 'Keeping It Affordable' roots
Mike Rutherford thinks new cars are simply too expensive, but some manufacturers are starting to do something about it
Not before time, there’s growing evidence that vehicle makers accept they’ve pushed their luck as far as they dare with the naughty, inflation-shattering price hikes that force some customers out of the new-car market. The latest, logical plan is to start pricing them back in again.
Understanding this better than most are manufacturers in Europe’s eastern quarter and on mainland China – thus their latest, circa £15k models.
The Best Bargain Car of the past few months (the Dacia Spring) has just been succeeded by the marginally more convincing Leapmotor T03, which in turn might be beaten by BYD’s Dolphin Surf later this year. But genuine bargains don’t have to be the absolute cheapest models, as Dacia’s Duster (from £19,380) and Bigster (£24,995) prove.
France-based firms are the current champs of Western Europe for marketing brilliant, sensibly priced, small to medium state-of-the-art cars. Citroen’s electric e-C3 is a steal at £22,095, and also world-class are the Renault 5 (£22,995) and imminent Renault 4 (let’s pray for a bog-standard version with rubber mats) from just £24,995.
MINI’s much-need Spring sale (8-12 May) came and went too quickly, but discounts can and should still be had. Volkswagen’s bigger, longer sale runs until 19 May. “May we have your attention?” the company asks of the new buyers it seeks. Only if you bring your entry-level Polo down below the £20k price point is my reply.
Looking pricey lately are Japanese and Korean cars. Honda is beginning to redeem itself with £5k off its e:Ny1, but the price-cutting “Toyotathon” event ends on 31 May, and reductions of up to £1,000 are less than generous.
As for Kia, many moons ago when it was selling some models at under £10k, I said to senior company reps in South Korea and Britain that they were free to use the Kia = Keeping It Affordable sales line I’d dreamt up. The company liked it, but quietly confided in me that its model range was about to become more expensive, which it did. The result? Several once-loyal buyers were forced to shop elsewhere. But now the firm has seemingly adopted a softer retail pricing strategy. The EV6, for instance, has just dropped below £40,000, which is where it should have been at launch four years ago.
Better still, Kia’s PV5 range of light vans arrives in the UK this year, with funky motorhomes and futuristic mobile offices probably coming later. All PV5s look good and are strangely desirable – with the added bonus of undercutting direct competitors. Just as many of the firm’s cars did a decade or more ago.
Thankfully then, Kia is – in part at least – returning to its Keeping It Affordable roots. Which is where Korea’s favourite automotive brand does its best work.
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