Kia Philippines now under Ayala, unveils Soluto sedan

Posted by Neil on February 21, 2019

On January 30^th, 2019 Ayala re-launched Kia in the Philippines at the Makati Shangri-La, taking the brand into a new chapter after 20 years in the country. Kia Philippines now operates under AC Industrials, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation (AC).

Kia Motors Asia-Pacific President Ted Lee noted the significance of the Philippine market to Kia’s growth, “Global Kia has been growing in the last decade as we recorded historical sales growth, enhanced our design excellence and proved our world-class quality. I strongly hope to see what we have achieved globally in this promising market as well. For that, Kia provides competitive products and will do so continuously. To prove this, Kia decided to export the Soluto with the Philippines as the first export market.”

The Soluto is a practical car with an array of value-for-money features, the 1.4-liter Dual-CVVT gasoline engine which puts out 95PS of power with 132 Nm of torque, combined with a spacious interior as well as standard 7-inch Touchscreen Audio with Android Auto & Apple Carplay, 6-speaker system, rearview camera and steering wheel controls with EX-exclusive features such as leatherette seats and rear parking distance warning. The retail prices of the four variants of the Soluto range from P625,000 to P735,000 and are available in Clear White, Titanium Silver, Aurora Black Pearl, Blue Stream, and Marcato Red colors.

The re-launch of Kia in the Philippines also featured the brand’s push to capture the younger segment of the automotive market, as Kia Philippines’ President Manny Aligada announced the next “unboxing” event of Kia Philippines for its next surprise would happen during the 2019 Manila International Auto Show in April, and then sometime in the last quarter for the third surprise for the year.

Consistent with Kia’s global mantra of “The Power to Surprise,” Kia Philippines aims to establish more dealers in strategic locations. Kia has, at present, a network of over 35 dealerships in the country. With the Kia business in the Philippines now under ACI’s wing, every Kia dealership will deliver the Kia Promise to Care Programs, which will ramp up aftersales service quality, competence, and parts availability to provide every customer an exceptional service experience.

AC President Fernando Zobel de Ayala expressed in his special message, “We are excited to introduce Kia’s wide range of model lineup as well as a new brand of sales and service experience for Filipinos. We are delighted to partner with Kia Motors Corporation in this endeavor and we look forward to many years of working together as we reestablish the Kia brand in the Philippines.”