Kia Canada Reportedly Scheming to Delay Vehicle Deliveries
If you’ve been waiting a long time for your new Kia, we feel sorry for you. Today’s news is only going to add to your frustration.
According to a CBC report, hundreds of Kia vehicles shipped from overseas and awaiting delivery to Canadian customers are deliberately being withheld in a vast storage lot in Wolverton, Ontario in a curious attempt to rig year-end results.
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In a Nov. 17 video call obtained by the Go Public team, a regional manager at Kia Canada gives instructions from national management to more than 100 dealership representatives. The plan is to deliver a fraction of those vehicles ready for delivery and keep the rest until the new year, supposedly to avoid appearing too successful in the eyes of global Kia execs.
"With the global slow down, Kia Canada wants to control wholesale and retail performance in 2023 to not show high over-achievement," Vince Capicotto said, adding that headquarters might otherwise not provide Kia Canada the necessary resources in their 2024 budget, particularly where marketing is concerned, to have a successful year.
Capicotto went on to say that Kia Canada had a target of selling 84,000 vehicles for 2023. As of Nov. 29, sales amounted to 79,199 units, an increase of 26.1 percent from the same period in 2022 and more than the annual sales record set in 2021.
The company is refusing to comment, citing "confidential internal business matters," CBC reports.
It’s pretty strange, indeed. Auto dealers typically make a year-end push to increase sales, not limit them. In the chat box of the aforementioned video call, several dealer reps did not hesitate to criticize Kia Canada’s controversial scheme.
Naturally, some customers have asked for their deposit back and walked away upon learning of the additional delays. Making matters more frustrating is the fact that not all customers across Canada are given the same chances.
The Car Guide has spoken with a man from Quebec who drove to Ontario to purchase an EV6 because he was told he could get it immediately. Another recently took delivery of her Niro EV after pressuring Kia Canada and her dealer for 11 months and being fed all sorts of excuses to justify the delay.