Kia holds largest-ever global dealers’ meeting in Seoul

Kia Motors is holding its largest-ever gathering of global dealers in Seoul this week, with more than 260 representatives from the carmaker’s global operations and dealers from 110 countries in attendance.

The five-day event, which kicked off Monday and continues through Friday, consists of business meetings; test-drives of new models; visits to Kia’s R&D center and the Dangjin factory of Hyundai Steel, the steelmaking unit of Hyundai Motor Group; and cultural programs.

A business conference will be held at Coex in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, to discuss Kia’s mid- to long-term vision and sales and marketing strategies.

Kia’s latest two models ― the Sorento sport-utility vehicle and the Carnival minivan ― also will be unveiled during the meeting ahead of their global launches.

“The visiting Kia dealers are renowned figures within their community. Helping them attain a better understanding of Korea during their stay will contribute to promoting Korea, as well as the Hyundai and Kia brands, in overseas markets,” said a Kia official.

According to Kia, Hyundai Motor Group holds more than 500 global events every year for dealers, customers and people in the media. But most of the events have been held outside its home turf due to a lack of related infrastructure, they said. “If we complete our new global business complex as planned, we will be able to host the events in Korea, drawing international visitors and their spending here,” said the official.

Hyundai Motor Group recently won the bid for Korea Electric Power Corp.’s office property in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. The final bidding price for the 80,000-square-meter site was 10.5 trillion won ($9.9 billion).

The group aims to create a global business complex consisting of a new headquarters building, a convention center, an automotive-themed park, a fancy shopping mall and other related facilities.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)