‘The Koreans are advancing’
Kia was the best-selling car brand in the Netherlands last year, but thirty years ago you couldn’t buy a Kia here. That changed in the summer of 1993. In AutoWeek 13 can 1993 we announced the Dutch market introduction of Kia. It would start with the Sephia and Sportage.
Kia is attracting a lot of attention this week with the brand new electric EV9. You will in no way see anything back from the Kia as we got to know it in the Netherlands in 1993. That started with the Kia’s Sephia and Sportage. We had quite high expectations, because Hyundai had already shown that South Korean cars could be quite interesting.
Sepia and Sportage
We were especially confident about the Sephia: “The Pride was not chosen for the start on the Dutch market; it is too similar to the old Mazda 121. Kia Motors Netherlands opts for the Sephia, a much more modern sedan of its own making. It is a compact mid-sized car that has to compete with, for example, the Opel Astra and VW Golf.The 4.28 m long sedan is driven by a 1,589 cc four-cylinder engine at the front. should be able to. A wheelbase of 2.50 meters ensures sufficient interior space.”
The second model was the Sportage that has survived in the Dutch range to this day. The first Sportage was much more of an all-terrain vehicle pure sang than the current SUV. “In 1994, Kia will expand the program with a fairly compact off-road vehicle. This Kia Sportage measures 4.05 meters from bumper to bumper. It has permanent four-wheel drive and offers a choice of three different power sources. Two of them have petrol running through their veins. The weakest version has a single camshaft and produces 90 hp. The strongest valves are opened by two camshafts, giving it an output of 125 hp. Those who want to drive economically can order a diesel. Or that 2.2-liter four-cylinder with However, we doubt that 65 hp is strong enough for the almost 1,500 kg Sportage. Time will tell.”
Cautious start
Later in 1993, sales of Kia in the Netherlands officially started and that year the Sephia convinced 143 Dutch people enough for a purchase contract. In 1994 that went up considerably and 868 were registered. Then the Sportage also joined to strengthen the ranks. The real reinforcement mainly came from the Pride, which came on the market in the Netherlands in 1995. It was good for 745 units in its first year of sale and shot through the 1,000 mark the following year. In 2000, Kia sold more than 5,000 cars for the first time. The rest is history.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl