Kia Australia engaged on Order To Ship program, extra personalisation choices

Kia Australia is planning to supply extra color and trim choices, in addition to shorter home windows between putting an order and having your car begin coming down the manufacturing line.

It’s no secret that the Korean model gives quite a few exterior and inside color and trim choices in its house market in addition to abroad that usually don’t make it to Australia.

In response to Kia’s native chief working officer, Damien Meredith, that may very well be altering throughout the subsequent two years.

“We’ve been large on retaining issues so simple as doable,” Mr Meredith instructed CarExpert.

“If product planning had their means we’d have 15 colors [for everything], however we wish to hold issues fairly tight and simplistic. However with OTD (Order To Ship), it will occur.”

“It would occur the place a buyer will are available and say ‘I need this, this, this and this’, after which in 90 days they’ll get their automotive in manufacturing. It’s not taking place tomorrow, however within the subsequent couple of years it’s going to.

Mr Meredith and Roland Rivero, basic supervisor for product planning at Kia Australia, confirmed that extra alternative in color and trim choices will kind a part of this course of.

Not like its Hyundai mum or dad, Kia’s native division hardly ever gives the complete color and fabric catalogue, not to mention something aside from black even in its high-spec fashions.

Presently, the Stinger is the one mannequin in Kia’s Australian vary that provides a couple of inside possibility, with the GT-Line and GT providing the selection of black or crimson upholstery relying on exterior color.

Up to now the Sportage, Sorento and Carnival have additionally provided mild inside choices regionally, however with the present generations Kia Australia has pared them again to only one possibility.

The present Sorento and Sportage, for instance, supply a number of decisions in South Korea, with the previous providing Navy Gray and Saddle Brown leather-based choices in addition to a six-seat configuration which can be all not out there in Australia, whereas the Sportage gives further gray/blue and brown leather-based inside choices.

The favored Carnival folks mover gives quite a few seating configurations overseas on high of the eight-seat inside that’s the only possibility regionally, together with 9- and 11-seat layouts with 4 rows of seating, in addition to a luxurious Excessive Limousine model that might put a Mercedes-Benz V-Class to disgrace.

Whereas it’s unclear precisely what further choices will make it to the Australian catalogue within the coming years, however for purchasers wanting extra alternative and extra personalisation choices – and from my information of Kia’s possession teams on-line, loads of these folks exist – this shall be a welcome change shifting ahead.

Keep tuned to CarExpert for the most recent on this new initiative over the approaching 18 months. We’d even be tremendous eager to listen to your ideas within the feedback beneath.

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