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You and your business: Kia

Sara Pratten is in charge of the business-focused Kia push into the small business sector. Sara explains to editor Ralph Morton what the programme entails, and how it could benefit small businesses.

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10 January 2012

Sara Pratten is in charge of the business-focused Kia push into the small business sector. Sara explains to editor Ralph Morton what the programme entails, and how it could benefit small businesses. Kia makes good-value cars. The recipe is simple: good prices; good to drive; and backed by a good warranty.

And, increasingly, attractive styling is being thrown into the mix, too.

Sara Pratten says there are four key cars in the range for small businesses to consider:

  • Kia pro_cee’d – a three-door hatchback in the Ford Focus class
  • Kia cee’d – a five-door pro_cee’d
  • Kia cee’d SW – estate car pro_cee’d
  • Kia Sportage – a tough 4×4 competing in the estate car market

Sara says these cars perform well on a whole life cost basis against competitors.

Whole life costs reflect the total cost of using a car over its life in the business. So the figure includes the amount of value it loses (depreciation), interest, fuel, servicing, maintenance and repairs.

Sara provided this comparison with Vauxhall’s Astra.

Whole life cost comparison: Kia cee’d v Vauxhall Astra

Car P11D value CO2 Depreciation RV% CPM WLCost
cee’d GS CRDi L12,985 119 L8,635 33.5 30.86 L18,517
Astra Life ecoFLEX CDTi L15,904 119 L11,427 28.09 36.35 L21,812

Source: EMMOX Carcost Febuary 2009- 3-years, 60,000 miles

“Apart from the three-year whole life saving of L3,295, the Kia gets a seven-year bumper to bumper warranty, there’s less NI to pay, and the benefit-in-kind tax is lower,” explains Sara.

Kia has also been refocusing its efforts on the business sector. Last year Kia moved away from the big fleet deals – where large discounts are the name of the game – to ensure the residual values of Kia cars stablised and improved. Which also helps the whole life costs.

And has invested in its business-to-business dealer base. There are now 15 business specialist dealers. The target is 20 by the end of 2009.

“Our business specialist dealers are based in the major conurbations,” explains Sara. “Each of these dealers has a business sales manager who we want to have a relationship with the small business community.” Specialist dealers have two Kia demonstrators for business contacts.

“We have provided training to these business sales managers so they fully understand the financial products that benefit small businesses – such as personal contract hire and contract hire leases,” says Sara.

“They will act as business car managers to the small businesses that take cars from us. They will look after the all the car management for them. It should be as hassle-free as our cars.”

Kia in its own words

Kia has the power to surprise. If you drive one of our cars you will be surprised by how good it is. And it’s all backed up by one of the best warranties on the market: seven years/100,000 miles.

Visit the Kia website at www.kia.co.uk.

Further information

You can read a special report about the Kia pro_cee’d here – Expert view: Kia pro_cee’d.

And, by clicking on the links, here are some Kia road tests of the Kia pro_cee’d 1.6 CRDi 113 3 3dr; Kia Sportage 2.0-litre CRDi XS 4WD; and Kia Soul 2.

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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