- $14,990 for a five door
hatch and a four door sedan
- Driver's air bag, CD player,
central locking and AirCon all standard
- Larger than class average
with a spacious interior
- A level of eye-catching
styling that is unusual in this sector
The all-new Kia Rio goes on sale today (10 July
2000) and with a $14,990 price for both the five door hatchback and the four
door sedan, along with a comprehensive equipment list, the Rio is set to become
the new small car benchmark in Australia.
The Kia Rio includes in its standard equipment
package driver's air bag, central locking, a six speaker CD player and air
conditioning, as well as a strong 1.5 litre 73.5 kW engine. Distinctive styling
provides a separate image for the hatch and sedan and endows the new Kia with a
spacious and airy interior. But it is the fact that it has two extra doors that
most clearly demonstrates Kia is committed to providing convenience and value
for money for Australian car buyers.
"Back in the 1980s small car makers
couldn't give away three door cars; five door cars dominated the market," says
Ric Hull, Managing Director of Kia Automotive Australia. "But new companies
coming into the Australian market used this an opportunity to gain sales by
heavily promoting their three door versions with the aim of getting the
customers into the showroom and selling them up to the more expensive five door
versions."
"In fact what happened was that the car
dealers talked people down to three doors because, with a $3000 price
difference, customers couldn't see a reason for paying for the extra two doors.
It was the easier option. The new importers got hooked on the three door sales
volume, negotiated better and better prices and Australia's small car market
became dominated by three door cars, a unique situation
worldwide."
"With the five and four door Kia Rio
effectively at the same price as some three doors, we are turning the clock
back to before the Australian small market headed off down the three door dead
end," says Mr Hull. "Once again Australian car buyers will be able to own a
real car, with the flexibility and versatility of four and five doors. We
believe that this is both a powerful and relevant message to car buyers that
will make the Kia Rio a success in Australia."
Both the sedan and hatchback versions
of the Kia Rio are powered by a 1.5 litre 16 valve engine offering 73.5 kW with
a five speed manual gearbox as standard with the option of an electronically
operated four speed automatic. Fully independent suspension is standard. Both
versions are fitted as standard with a driver's air bag, CD player with six
speakers, air conditioning and central locking. Unusually, there is not price
differential between the sedan and the hatch, with both versions costing
$14,990 inclusive of GST. The automatic version is an additional
$1800.
Three Kia models that are changing the face of
Australian car buying
The Kia Rio is the second of three new models that
are changing how Australian car buyers see new cars. Less than 12 months ago
the Kia Carnival took the people mover market by storm, not just by snatching a
third of all people mover sales in Australia but by also growing the market. It
demonstrated that there was pent up demand in the Australian car market for a
people mover at the right price and with the right specification, something
other car makers had failed to provide.
Now comes the Kia Rio, throwing down the gauntlet
to the car makers who believe that entry level means three doors, a lack of
styling and a thin equipment list. There can be little doubt that its arrival
will cause other car makers, as Carnival has done before it, to reassess their
product positioning.
The Kia Rio will be joined by the Kia Carens, an
entirely new class of family car that offers six seats in a size at which most
cars offer five and at the sort of highly competitive price that has become
expected of Korea's most innovative car maker.
But it is the Rio that is set to
transform Kia's position in the Australian car market.
Not only is it a benchmark car in its own right,
it also takes over the small car mantle previously held by the Ford Festiva,
which enjoyed sales of 17,000 cars last year. Kia has provided two generations
of the Festiva for the American car maker, but now emboldened by the quality
and ability of its latest product, it has ended its relationship with Ford and
is selling the Rio under its own name.
This means, along with its own abilities, that
Kia's own sales target for the Rio of 12,000 units a year could end up being
modest. Already, thanks to advance information on the Rio, initial demand is
well ahead of Kia Automotive Australia's ability to supply.
"There is no question that the Kia Rio
will be a sales hit," says Ric Hull. "Not only does it offer more in most areas
than its competitors, it is clearly fresh and different in a market sector that
has not offered products as dynamic as the Rio for at least five years. I am
sure that the strong demand we already have for the Rio will be just the
start!"
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