John Hargreaves and Steve Hicks tell FW why there are many reasons to be positive in 2022.

John Hargreaves, head of fleet and remarketing at Kia Motors UK

Kia is in uncharted territory but, fortunately, it’s in a very good way. One of the most talked about cars of 2021 was the EV6 – a vehicle that was voted (in Germany, at least) car of the year in the premium category.

Premium has never really been a target for the Korean manufacturer. In fact, sales director, Steve Hicks and head of fleet and remarketing, John Hargreaves don’t consider that to be the case. They’ll happily take the accolade, but it’s not something that was ever the intention.

As most other automotive manufacturers found, 2021 was, as Hicks describes, ‘a rollercoaster’. Problems surrounding supply, going in and out of lockdown and continuing issues such as semiconductor shortages meant it was very difficult to predict which way to turn. But, helped by the launch of the EV6, Kia’s market share reached close to 6%, up from 2.8% a decade ago.

Sales in 2021 were split roughly 60:40 in favour of fleet, with around 50,000 vehicles going to businesses. With more BiK-friendly electric vehicles set to arrive (depending on supply!) in 2022, the Kia UK team has its sights set on hitting 95,000 units across the two disciplines.

“The biggest challenge for next year is communicating our delivery schedules to our customers,” says Hicks. “Fortunately, we’ve got a really strong product range and a good relationship with our dealer network – and also our fleet customers, which helps.”

How are you approaching 2022 and helping fleets transition to EVs?

John Hargreaves: We still have a good range of diesels, petrols and plug-in hybrids, so we’re not trying to force people down that road. But the TCO argument is starting to become a lot more relevant, which is helping fleets focus on what’s important. We’re not, certainly not financially, supporting EVs to get people to change. Instead, we are speaking to customers and if they want to drive the cars, we are facilitating that process. We are also finding out that, for some fleets, EV might not be right for the whole fleet. It’s almost like being an expert advisor and not pushing one power source or another.

Steve Hicks, sales director, Kia

What has been the reaction from fleet customers to the EV6?

Steve Hicks: What we find really interesting is that a lot of the customers are really genned up on EVs. A couple of years ago that wasn’t the case, but now, with a number of products out there, most of our customers are fully aware of what they want, what the benefits are and how EVs fit into their fleet.

Our job is to guide and help that journey, rather than four or five years ago when we were working much harder to tell people about the opportunities that EVs present.
In general, most of our customers are aware of the benefits and the direction of travel. For example, next year the e-Niro is going to sell more than every other Kia model, apart from the Sportage.

Are you surprised by the success of e-Niro and EV6?

SH: I’m more surprised – and delighted – by the speed of change, because I genuinely thought for many drivers it would take a bigger push from us to convince them about EVs. But it hasn’t – it’s very much drivers and customers choosing their vehicles.

JH: I think with e-Niro, it was largely down to the driving range – getting 280 miles was important. And it is a realistic range, rather than just a stated one, which made a big difference. As soon as we got the message across that e-Niro was a 280-mile car in real-world usage, people began to realise they could use it. It was the same with the Soul, when that launched.

What’s the plan to manage the semiconductor shortage issue?

SH: Our colleagues in Korea have done an amazing job. In the short term, our factories have already confirmed the continued supply of semiconductors. We’re quite comfortable, but there are elements that we can’t control. Therefore, we’re looking at simplifying some of our ranges – some parts that we can’t guarantee arriving we don’t buy or put them in our vehicles, for example. Ultimately, having an ethos of not allowing failure and controlling the situation ourselves will be a strength for us going forwards, too.

JH: I think the production of locally produced semiconductors has been expanded, which helps. It’s going to be difficult, but there’s also a lot of an active management at Kia factories to increase the number of components and keep supply of the parts ongoing.

“As soon as we got the message across that e-Niro was a 280-mile car in real-world usage, people began to realise they could use it”

John Hargreaves, head of fleet and remarketing, Kia

What improvements are planned when it comes to aftersales and servicing?

JH: We have a fleet service standard, which has got all of the things drivers expect, such as ‘while you wait’ servicing and fixed prices. We’re finding that it works well, but we are working on a few things where we have had particular issues with Sportage and some offroad customers, but we are supporting them through our own dealers to keep them on the road. The first goal is always to get them back on the road in a Kia and then resolve the problem. Our fleet service standards are well set and we see no reason to change that.

How has a relatively niche car such as Stinger helped Kia’s growth and status?

JH: In all sorts of brands there’s often a halo car and Stinger was another example of that. I think you’d be stretching it to say that someone who drives a Picanto does so because they’ve seen a Stinger and they like it. But those cars do enhance the perception of the brand.

Also, cars such as the ProCeed have a ‘sporty’ feel to them and there is a bit of that sporting pedigree from Stinger, people are likely to notice it a bit more. And then with EV6 you’ve got a high- performance electric car and people are surprised – in a good way – by that.

Does the new branding mean a shift how the company is positioning itself?

SH: I think it helps raise awareness. I think we’ve earned the trust of customers in the UK because we’ve delivered and tried to offer affordable cars with good specifications and warranties. Now, it’s enabling us to move to more desirable cars and attract new customers. We’ve got a really loyal base who will stick with us and continue to buy our products. But EV6 and Stinger have definitely brought conquest customers, which we always need to be attracting. Those cars were specifically designed to provide a change in the brand’s direction, but also to attract those new customers in.

Looking from the stats, I’d say 90% of EV6 customers are new to Kia, which is great. And that’s exactly what we want – and I’m hoping that will help us sell more.

This year kicks off with new Sportage, what are the goals for that car?

SH: Sportage has been our best-selling car and I’m really excited about it. It follows the direction of EV6 in terms of design and interior quality. Also, with the new powertrains, it’s getting to the point where it is easy to see the demise of diesel and petrol in the marketplace because there are hybrids and PHEV options. That fact alone will open up new opportunities because Sportage, until now, has just been powered by petrol or diesel. It’s built in Europe, which helps because we tend to get more guaranteed supply from our European factory, compared with our global factories. So I’m really encouraged by Sportage production for this year.
What challenges do you face around RVs for electric cars?

JH: The likes of CAP are very nervous about EVs. The values are going up, but not at a hugely steep rate, because they have put a caveat on everything by stating that what is currently ‘state-of-the-art’ battery technology now could be obsolete in a few years.

The used car market and new car market are different, but also completely related. So if the market goes to 50% EV quickly, I think it’s safe to assume that the market for used cars will be will be similar. The tax advantages of used cars as EVs are obviously non-existent compared to new cars, so there is more risk there. But the guides are saying they’re going to become more acceptable, better known and the RVs will go up. But they are tempering that by saying that they don’t want to see cars in three years’ time with large values when actually they’ve been overtaken by the new cars that will go much further.

Who’s John Hargreaves?

Starting out in the automotive business in 1985 as a sales manager at Herondrive, Hargreaves moved onto Ford Credit and Ford itself in 1987. By 1993, he had moved to Citroën UK, where he spent 16 years, rising to national fleet sales manager.

After a short spell as manufacturer account manager at Motability Operations, he joined Kia in February 2011, originally as head of fleet and remarketing.

Hargreaves enjoys spending time playing golf and lives in South Buckinghamshire.

Who’s Steve Hicks?

After joining the Ford graduate scheme in 1999, Hicks worked at Mazda as dealer operations manager before joining Hyundai in 2010, starting out as product planning manager, before moving on to national sales and operations manager.

After a short spell as regional director at Nissan, he became sales director at Kia in 2017.

Hicks is an avid rugby fan and lives in St Albans with his wife and son.