Chairman Chung Mong-koo meets with a number of officials of Kia Motors auto plant in Mexico during his recent visit to inspect the auto maker’s operation in the Latin American country with the auto maker getting ready to kick off the sale of its cars throughout Latin America as Mexico as its base from July 1.

An auto showroom for Kia Motors cars in Mexico.(Photos:Kia Motors)

Kia Motors announced that it would start marketing its cars in Mexico from July 1 at 21 stores operated by its agents in the Latin American country. The Mexican government has waved the 20 percent duty for foreign cars produced in the country. Mexico has many foreign car plants, but foreign automakers have typically not sold their cars there due to 20 a percent duty slapped on foreign cars, including those produced in Mexico.

The Korean automaker will sell its cars in 10 cities in Mexico through their agents. It has plans to expand the number of agents to 60 by 2017 from the current 21, the automaker said recently.

 The carmaker said it will start selling such car brands as the Forte, the Sportage, the Sorrento and later the K5, the new JF, which is to be put on the domestic car market this year, too. The Forte, being produced in Mexico, will be shipped from Korea to take advantage of the waver of the duty for cars produced in Mexico, while the Sportage will be shipped from its plants in Europe. The Sorrento will be shipped from its plants in the U.S.

The automaker has been engaged in public relations activities through media there, including on TV, radio and online, to let the public know about the Kia Motors line of cars. The automaker hopes to expand its overseas sales, which would also boost domestic sales of its cars, to expand its overall sales this year in the hope that its global market share would be increased.

Kia plans to make Mexico its base for the sale of its cars in other Latin American countries. now that the Mexican government removed the 20 percent duty charged on foreign cars.

The automaker also plans to build more car plants in Mexico. Last August, Kia Motors signed an agreement with Nuevo State in Mexico to build a car plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 cars. It will turn out a number of sedan models, including the Forte and other mid-medium-sized passenger cars.

While inspecting plants and the progress of construction of the new car plants in March, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo visited Kia’s Mexico auto plants and told the officials and staff there that the group will make Mexico a bridgehead for exports to other Central and Latin American countries, such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile. 

Kia has very good cause to get serious about marketing its cars in the host country. Mexico’s market for automobiles has been growing fast despite the global slowdown. The annual sale of cars has risen from around 10 percent every year since 2011 when 900,000 cars were sold. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the figures rose to 990,000, 1.06 million and 1.14 million cars, respectively.

A number of global car makers operate car plants in Mexico including GM, Volkswagen, Toyota and Nissan, among others, placing Mexico as the 7th largest car production country in the world. That’s the largest in Latin America, even outpacing Brazil’s 3.22 million cars produced annually.

The following three phrases sum up Kia’s management philosophy, according to the company: full accountability, realizing potential and practicing humanity. “These key values are encapsulated in a single mantra ‘Building a new future and realizing humanity’s dreams by thinking creatively and tackling challenges head on.’”