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KIA Motors Australia (KMAu) is serving up wildcards in the lead up to its 18-year-old sponsorship of the Australian Open tennis event this week with special editions of three of its car models.

The tennis relationship, funded by Kia’s parent in South Korea, is now the longest that the 114 year-old event has had, surpassing Kia’s sponsorship predecessor Ford that supported the January event for 16 years.

Sales of Ford and Kia during their sponsorship era hint at the value of corporate support for high-visibility events.

It must have proved its value to Kia. The car-maker recently extended its partnership with the Australian Open for a further five years to 2023. The sponsorship involves financial and logistical support, believed to be valued at more than $10 million a year.

Part of the logistics is a 100-plus fleet of Kia vehicles used for chauffeur and courtesy transport functions that have accumulated more than six-million kilometres of travel around Melbourne since Kia started with the event in 2002.

The Australian Open has enjoyed a modest turnover in sponsors. Ford was with the event for 16 years and withdrew in 2001, replaced by Kia for the following season. At the same time, long-standing associate sponsor Heineken left in 2003 after joining up in 1998. It was paying an estimated $6 million a year.

When Kia replaced Ford as main sponsor for the 2002 tournament, the sponsorship was believed to have been offered at a reduced rate for the first year, then elevated to about $10 million to make it the richest single-event sponsorship in Australia.

Kia Picanto GT-Line

Kia annually leverages its involvement with the Australian Open to release new car models. This week it will be special-edition versions of the Picanto micro-car, the X-Line, and upper-spec variants of the SUV pair, Sportage and Sorento.

“Since we first introduced Picanto into what we were warned was a dead segment, this little star has captured the imagination in a way which is nothing short of amazing,” said KMAu chief operating officer Damien Meredith.

The Picanto is now the top-seller in a city-car segment with an 82 per cent market share. Four years ago, the segment was slumping as buyers ignored micro-cars, causing the exodus of its then major players, the Volkswagen Up, Nissan Micra, Holden Spark, Suzuki Celerio and Fiat Panda.

Mr Meredith said of the Picanto that “it has not only revived the segment but regenerated interest every time a new model or derivative has been introduced”.

Also on the AO Special Edition menu is a Sportage mid-size SUV and Sorento large SUV that add features above the Si grade for a small price increase.

By Neil Dowling

Rafael Nadal Kia Ambassador

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