Kia Motors Launches Dealer-Led 'Kia Mobility' Service... Pilot Operation in Italy

Dealer-Owned Vehicles Rented to Customers at Sales Network Bases
"Responding to the Rapidly Changing Mobility Market After COVID-19"

Kia Motors will launch a pilot project of the dealer-led mobility service 'KiaMobility,' where dealers directly carry out vehicle disinfection and inspection based on their sales network, starting on the 21st (local time) in Italy and Russia. (Photo by Kia Motors)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Kia Motors is introducing a dealer-led mobility service called 'Kia Mobility' in overseas markets and diversifying its global mobility strategy. It will first conduct pilot operations in Italy and Russia, and from next year, plans to expand the service to several countries in Europe as well as Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.

On the 21st (local time), Kia announced that it will start the pilot project of Kia Mobility at 16 locations in Italy and Russia. Kia Mobility is a service where dealers rent out vehicles they own to customers through their sales network for periods ranging from one day to one year. Through this, Kia plans to respond to changing customer needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pioneer new mobility markets.

Recently, concerns about vehicle hygiene have increased due to the COVID-19 situation, leading to a decrease in demand for short-term mobility services used by unspecified many, while demand for mid- to long-term occupancy-type mobility services is expected to increase. Kia explains that this service alleviates COVID-19 concerns by having dealers directly carry out disinfection and inspection of all vehicles. Additionally, since vehicles are picked up and returned at dealerships rather than unspecified locations, it also reduces anxiety about short-term mobility services. Furthermore, it is meaningful in that it seeks mutual growth with dealers who need to diversify revenue sources due to the spread of shared mobility services.

Kia developed the vehicle management platform, a core element of this service, on its own. Dealers can easily manage vehicles, reservations, and customers through this platform. Customers can use a mobile app linked to the platform to make real-time, location-based vehicle reservations and payments. By installing telematics devices, Kia plans to provide optimized mobility services by enabling remote vehicle control, real-time vehicle management, and analyzing data such as location information and driving routes.

A Kia official said, “Starting with the Kia Mobility pilot project, we will actively respond to the rapidly changing mobility market after COVID-19 and continuously pursue mutual growth with dealers. We will analyze the data from the pilot project to provide optimized, customized mobility services for customers.”

Meanwhile, Kia aims to provide customized mobility solutions by operating subscription-based mobility service 'Kia Flex' in Korea, car-sharing service 'Wible' in Spain, and acquiring driving data of vehicles supplied to the Hyundai Motor Group mobility service corporation 'Motion Lab' and the U.S. car-hailing company Lyft in the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.