Is KIA k5' s fuel consumption high？ Is it worth buying？

In recent years, the joint venture mid-level car market has been in a state of fierce competition. KIA k5, as a mainstream family car with the concept of car system and sense of movement complementing each other and unique style, has attracted a lot of attention and enthusiasm at the beginning of the introduction of car system. However, after the development in recent years, the sales volume has gradually declined, and the monthly sales volume is less than 700, which makes people jokingly call it the "king of cost performance". This paper tries to explore the truth behind the story called "Who killed Kia K5".

I. Market Positioning and Competitive Pressure

In the domestic automobile market, joint-venture mid-level cars have a wide reputation and fierce competition. KIA K5 has made great efforts in this market, and it is favored by young consumers because of its forward-looking design of multi-liking technology. However, brands such as Zhirun-Kaiku and Speedy are becoming more and more popular within the car system, which makes it more difficult for K5 to stand out. In addition, low-priced independent high-end cars such as Chuanqi GS8 or Roewe RX5 have become strong competitors of K5.

Second, failed to fully upgrade.

Although K5 is strategically positioned to enter the mid-to high-end vehicle market, it has not fully upgraded its configuration and technology. In 2016, compared with competing brands at the same price, Kia K5 was not excellent in power and fuel consumption. German imports of Nissan engines and powershift have failed to increase the intended order quantity even if the energy utilization rate and excellent power meet the needs of consumer business.

Third, the lack of effective promotion

In addition to the above-mentioned challenge factors, if you want to expand market share quickly, you need accurate and effective promotion and communication. However, the car failed in advertising play for the first time. There are shortcomings and insufficient efforts in media promotion and channel marketing, which leads to the failure to improve sales performance rapidly. At the same time, there are obvious weaknesses in the training of the sales staff of this car in offline display, which fails to cope with the purchase consultation calmly and always meet the personalized price of users.

Fourth, the quality problem

Consumer evaluation standards are stricter, and more emphasis is placed on quality and brand. Kia K5 has also been left out in the cold in its brand reputation, which is related to the fact that its once popularization probability has not spread word-of-mouth among a wider range of users by improving quality. Some consumers have reported that KIA K5 has certain quality problems in air conditioning and acoustics, which also has an impact on the competitiveness of this model in the market.

5. Short-sightedness and poor internal communication of enterprises

The whole industry is facing rapid transformation and change, and the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Faced with such a situation, all major car companies need to introduce various new technologies, new designs and new categories of automobile products to adapt to more severe market changes and achieve sustained and stable development. However, Kia is short-sighted in product positioning and market strategy, and has not fully entered the high-end business sedan market, which makes her and mainstream consumer groups lose the opportunity to land in the middle and high-end market.

In a word, "the king of cost performance" has become one of the reasons why K5 is called "Who killed K5", but the deep-seated factors behind its sales downturn are very complicated and diverse. In order to rejuvenate Kia K5, manufacturers need to re-examine their product positioning, quality and market strategy, and correct the existing weak links to meet consumers' more demanding demands on safety, emissions, intelligent fuel consumption and many other aspects. In the end, it can be said that through the combination of adjusting sales model, improving product quality and image marketing, K5 can meet its "change" with advanced technology and profound humanistic brand connotation.

In recent years, China's auto market has continued to be hot, and joint-venture mid-level models have emerged in an endless stream. Among them, Kia K5, which is known as the "king of cost performance", has suffered a decline in sales. According to the data, in April 2022, the sales volume of Kia K5 was only 686, which was a sluggish sales. This topic is worthy of attention. This paper will analyze the recent situation of Kia K5, find out the reasons for its sluggish sales, and put forward corresponding solutions.

First, the competitive pressure faced by Kia K5

1. The sharp increase of joint venture brand cars at the same level. In recent years, more and more joint venture car companies have joined the domestic car market, and the mid-level car market can be said to be a "red sea". Major brands bring forth new ideas, constantly update products, and play advertising and marketing strategies to dazzle consumers.
2. Consumers' favor for SUVs. With the change of the times, consumers' car buying psychology and preferences have also changed. Nowadays, people pay more attention to comfort and space, and usually tend to buy SUV models when choosing cars. This has also led to a continuous decline in the sales of traditional cars.
3. The same door "Weiting" caused the internal sales volume to tilt. As another popular model of KIA, KIA Weiting's sales soared instantly, while KIA K5' s sales dropped sharply. The competition within the same door is bound to have a certain impact on the sales of the brand's mid-level cars.
4. Lack of new energy vehicles. At present, the country advocates diversified and low-carbon travel, but the market layout of Kia K5 in new energy vehicles is weak, and the only hybrid model can not meet the market demand and policy demand.

Second, analyze the problem

1. The market positioning is not clear. Kia K5' s previous promotion has always focused on cost performance, which undoubtedly makes many consumers regard it as an "affordable" mid-size car. However, with the fierce market competition, not only the price, product quality, brand image and many other factors will determine the result of consumers' purchase.
2. Marketing promotion is not in place. Although KIA K5 has done a lot of publicity and promotion activities, it has not formed a strong impression and consumer awareness in the market, which will obviously affect sales performance.
3. Features and defects of its own products. The gap between KIA K5 and the market demand in body design, technology and configuration is gradually widening. If it can't keep up with the product update of joint venture brands at the same level in time, it will be difficult to gain market competitive advantage.

Third, the solution

1. Redefine the market positioning. Change the previous practical strategy of "affordable", pay attention to product quality and scientific and technological content, and accelerate the development and layout of new energy vehicles, so as to make an effective breakthrough.
2. Improve the marketing promotion strategy. Pay attention to the needs of existing consumers to provide more diversified choices, and add novelty, interactive experience and other special links in store promotion to attract the younger generation of audiences and improve brand recognition.
3. Innovation in product technology and configuration. Constantly looking for new technological ideas and partners, through in-depth cooperation with Internet companies, we will create a selling point with the characteristics of product differentiation, scene and service, and constantly improve the product image to give a psychological value label, which will narrow the distance with consumers.
4. Deepen the management of smart supply chain within the brand. Make use of the advantages of local production, strengthen the information communication and sharing among internal companies/departments, seize the opportunity of digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises, and further promote the digital upgrading and platform construction of supply chain enterprises, so as to create a global supply chain with upstream and downstream integration as its future trend planning focus.

To sum up, regarding the problem of low sales of KIA K5, we can make great efforts by repositioning the market, perfecting the propaganda strategy, upgrading the product technology level and improving the supply chain management. Starting from the marketing perspective and the unique demand of products, it is an effective way to actively deal with the current situation and increase its sales.