Kia 2013 Annual Report Download - page 9

Hyoung-Keun Lee
Vice Chairman
Distinguished shareholders,
2013 was a year in which Kia Motors looked to the future while dealing
effectively with domestic and global challenges.
Our commitment to quality management has continued to bear fruit,
with Kia Motors ranking fifth out of 21 mainstream brands in the 2013
Initial Quality Study released by J.D. Power & Associates, a U.S.-based
market intelligence agency. This result is our highest ranking to date.
Furthermore, since the Kia Soul’s ‘Honorable Mention’ in the Product
Design category at the red dot Design Awards in 2009, we have gone on
to win numerous design accolades over the last five years. Meanwhile,
our mobile apps for Sportage and Carens (Rondo) also were by the
red dot awards in the Communication category, confirming the design
competitiveness of both our products and our customer contact points.
Kia appreciates that our customers experience our brand and products
using all five senses, and so we have introduced the concept of ‘sensory
branding’, using far more than just the sense of vision. In this spirit, we
released our brand song, ‘Advent of the Kians’, and developed a ‘Kia
Fragrance’.
We also solidified our collaborative labor-management relationship in
2013 by successfully introducing a day-time two-shift system at our
domestic production sites, thus significantly improving our productivity.
This has also contributed to our increased brand value, which grew by
17% to USD 4.8 billion, thereby placing Kia among the ranks of the top
100 global brands for two years in a row. Kia was also recognized for
the very first time as being one of the ’50 Best Global Green Brands’ that
respect the environment and people.
As a result of these diverse activities, total sales reached 2.83 million
units, up 4% over the previous year, with record-high revenues of KRW
47,597.9 billion. With an operating income of KRW 3,177.1 billion and
net income of KRW 3,817.1 billion, our annual income exceeded KRW 3
trillion for the third consecutive year despite intense competition and the
negative impact of foreign exchange rates.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for your support and
encouragement over the past year that have enabled us to achieve
these significant milestones.
Valued shareholders,
The global business environment is expected to remain difficult this year,
with economic uncertainties in some regions forecasted to worsen. We
can expect slower growth in emerging countries including China, further
tapering of quantitative easing in the U.S., continued weakness of the
Japanese Yen, and a continued fall in the Korean won exchange rate.
Furthermore, car imports into Korea will continue to expand, especially
from Japan, and foreign carmakers will look to make an aggressive
push into the Korean market.
Even while we face these challenges, Kia will seek to become a true
market-leading, global company through transformation and innovation.
Following the completion of our third plant in China this year, our global
production capacity will increase to 3 million units within 10 years, up
from one million in 2004. Accordingly, we have set 2014 as the year of
strengthening our competitiveness in order to establish the management
systems to produce 3 million units globally. In line with this, there will be
a stronger focus on customer-centric management, medium- and long-
term growth drivers and sustainable management.
We will strive to make the Kia customer experience a truly exclusive one
by improving all customer contact points, establishing creative sales
and service programs, and putting into place comprehensive customer
management systems. Our customers’ emotional experience with the
Kia brand will make Kia an increasingly trusted and valuable purchase
decision.
Meanwhile, a wide range of new models will be launched to cater to
customer needs, and we will expand our global production and sales
strategies. This will enable us to flexibly respond to the global economic
environment and maintain stable profitability. In addition, there will be a
focus on fuel efficiency, IT and eco-friendly technologies in order to build
the highest levels of product competitiveness.
While preemptively responding to external changes in the business
environment, we will improve our management system internally by
embodying innovation. We will also develop globally competitive talent
in line with our plans for future development, and boost our health,
safety and environment (HSE) activities to meet global standards,
thereby strengthening our socially responsible management.
Our target for this year is to grow into a globally renowned brand, with
sales of 2.96 million units for a 5% increase compared to 2013.
Distinguished shareholders,
2014 will usher in a new era for Kia Motors, as we progress towards
becoming a top-tier carmaker with a production and sales system to
accommodate 3 million vehicles annually. Our staff’s unyielding passion
for innovation will enable Kia to become a global industry leader, and
we will do our utmost to repay your steadfast support by achieving our
targets for the year ahead.
I ask for your continued consideration and encouragement, and wish
you and your families good health and happiness.
Thank you.







   