Kia ready to compete with luxury brands by 2017

Had anyone told us years ago that Hyundai would count among its ranks models so well finished and with the technology to rival the powerful Germans, we would not have believed it. The case of the Equus is the most representative of this new philosophy among Korean manufacturers, in whose whirlwind of image change Kia will also be swept up.

However, not all that glitters is gold. The Equus has not yet been fully accepted by Asian markets, nor by the American market where it is sold, so there are no guarantees that Kia will become a luxury sub-brand of Hyundai, as an executive of the brand has predicted.

Kia has its own model similar to the Equus, the K9/Quoris, which is currently sold in Korea and will soon have to pass the greatest test of all, arriving in the USA. The problem for both Hyundai and Kia is that, despite having grown by leaps and bounds, they are still not an alternative to Mercedes or BMW.

In Europe, it is clear that the offering has focused on compacts and SUVs. It will take them many more years to measure up to luxury brands, which in turn have needed constant effort over more than 80 years to reach the top. As in the USA, the European consumer believes that a Hyundai or a Kia will never be as good as a Mercedes-Benz. Perhaps over the years Korean cars will be able to match the German ones, although for the moment it is clear that this is not the case.

Via | Scoop