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Soul: Chosen by the Pope,
driven by the world
Special Issue: Popemobile
Pope Francis also used the Soul during his visit to the Philippines
in January 2015. Hearing that the Pope was highly satised with
the Soul during his earlier visit to South Korea, Kia Motors donated
three units of the Soul to the papal visit organizing committee,
with two of them being delivered to the Vatican. The Soul was
rst introduced to the European market in February 2009, and
is particularly popular in North America. 98.3% of production in
Korea was exported in 2014, and more than 80% of those were
sold in North America. In September, after the Pope’s visit to South
Korea, sales rose to 1,627 units in Europe, a surge of 118.4% from
the previous month.
The Soul is the diamond of Kia Motors’ design management
initiatives. KRW 190 billion was invested in the design efforts to
create a new concept crossover utility vehicle (CUV). As a result, the
Soul had recorded over 1 million units in total sales as of January
2015. Currently, it is a signicant contributor to Kia’s exports, ranking
rst in the box-type car segment ever since its introduction to the
North American market.
The interest in the Popemobile saw a sharp rise with the visit of
Pope Francis to South Korea in the summer of 2014. The Popemobile
refers to all motor vehicles used by the Catholic Pope in everyday life
or during outdoor public appearances. The Kia Soul was Pope Francis’
choice for the Popemobile during his visit to South Korea.
The Soul was provided as a protocol vehicle
during the visit of Pope Francis to South Korea,
following his statement that he prefers small
cars. The vehicle received extensive attention
as a result of the Pope’s visit, which was
broadcast around the world.
Pope Francis, known for his frugality, asked the Catholic preparation
committee if he could ride the “smallest car in Korea” during his
ve-day visit in August 2014. The committee picked the Soul for
the Popemobile, based largely on safety and security factors, after
considering several compact vehicles of different brands. The Soul is
popular with elderly customers in Europe and North America due to
its easy ingress and egress as well as low price.
Soul:
Loved by the world
Soul:
Total sales surpass 1 million units
Soul:
A car betting the Catholic Pope
30 31
Annual Report 2014Our Performance