Kia 2004 Annual Report Download - page 10

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All Kia em ployees are passionate about building on the many successes in the past year to keep
making the company stronger and raising value for you, shareholders.
As we all are aware, prospects for the coming year are not very bright. Market watchers say that the US
and Chinese economies are showing signs of a slowdown, while the US Dollar will remain w eak and
recovery of the Korean economy will be delayed. How ever, management at Kia Motors intends to
continue moving forward. We have adopted a "crisis control" posture, which includes accurately
predicting risk factors and implementing countermeasures. We have also set ambitions performance
targets: a record 1.21 million units sold and W18.57 trillion in sales revenue.
To this end, we are resolved to make labor-management relations more productive and mature. We
have devised innovative approaches that will further raise our operational transparency and global
competitiveness. Our plans also call for increasing sales inside as well as outside Korea and for
boosting profitability.
This year, we will first reintroduce our economical Pride(sub-compact sedan), present follow-ups for
our very successful Carnival(mini-van) and Optima(mid-size sedan), and launch some new diesel-
powered versions of existing models. We aim to make the most of this opportunity to raise our share
of the Korean market to 27%, regaining the market share lost in 2004.
Meanwhile, overseas operations will be bolstered to accommodate annual sales of 1 million units,
worth some US$10 billion. In March 2004, we exported our 5 millionth vehicle after 30 years of
overseas operation. This is a m eaningful achievement for the Korean autom otive industry and serves
as a platform for our becoming a truly global automaker.
In addition to such quantitative growth, we are now working on bringing our brand status up to that
of the world's best. This will enable us to comm and the right price for our products in every market
worldwide. Of course, the fundamental competitiveness of our quality, productivity and R&D activities
will continue to be raised. Investment w ill also be increased so that we can introduce highly
competitive new models and complete our global production network expansion - the engine that
will drive future growth.
We expect 2005 to be our most challenging year ever and a time of tremendous change for Kia
Motors. The phrase "Innovation for Humanity" summarizes our mid- and long-term vision. To this end,
we will continue pursuing the qualitative growth that can lay the groundwork for our becoming a
major global player. The 30,000 people in the Kia Motors organization are resolved to achieve the
ambitious goals we have set for ourselves in 2005 and to provide you, our shareholders, with higher
value in return for your unwavering support.
I thank you for your interest in us and extend m y best wishes to you and your families.
Ik-Hwan Kim
President & CEO
Kia Motors Corporation
10
KIA Motors_2004 Annual Report