Kia's VG unlikely for Australia

Korean car manufacturers appear to be averse to marketing larger or 'near prestige' passenger cars in Australia. Hyundai has its rear-wheel drive Genesis coupe and sedan (more here), but that's only been developed in left-hand drive, so it's a non-starter for the local market -- much as the importer would like to give it a go here.

Hyundai's stablemate Kia is also working on a larger passenger sedan, one which is based on the platform of Hyundai's Grandeur and will resemble the KND-5 concept car (more here) when it reaches production later this year. The new car is code-named 'VG' (more here) and is rumoured to be a replacement for the Opirus/Amanti currently sold in the US (as the Amanti) and other markets (as the Opirus) -- or the VG will be a stand-alone model that will complement the Opirus/Amanti (pictured here on Kia's production line at Hwasung).

There is a precedent for the VG selling alongside the Opirus. Kia is in the habit of tailoring designs to suit specific markets. The c'eed hatch was styled in Europe for European markets and the current Cerato sedan has been designed for North America and Asian markets, where a boot is apparently preferable to a hatch. So, by analogy, it's possible that the VG and an upgraded Opirus may sell concurrently, but in different markets -- with the Schreyer-styled VG tuned more for German autobahns perhaps.

While in South Korea for the launch of the new Sorento (more here) and Cerato Koup (more here), we also spotted the VG, in disguise.

We discussed the VG with Jonathan Fletcher, Kia Australia's PR Manager. Fletcher, who said that the large car was not "on the radar" for Australia, provided the Carsales Network with a little background on the VG, explaining that the car is expected to be powered by two Hyundai Group engines: the 'Tau' V8 and the Lambda 3.8-litre V6. It's hard to imagine that the Tau powerplant will be installed in a car that offers anything less than all-wheel drive.

"We currently have no plans for it," Fletcher said, "as much as anything because we are not convinced that there is a market opportunity for us.

"Of course, we would need to build a business case for KMC [Kia Motor Company] before they would homologate it for us."

The Kia PR man is more open to mounting a business case for VG in Australia if other right-hand drive markets (the UK, South Africa, Japan) got behind it.

"Unquestionably... the UK is the manna for the whole right-hand drive equation. If they can build a business case for the UK, then you can hang on, on the back of that -- just a little bit of extra volume for Australia and New Zealand."

Ultimately, Fletcher has in mind a rationale for introducing the VG to Australia -- but it's sort of chicken-and-egg reasoning. A vehicle like this could serve to raise Kia's profile and improve its brand image, but there's an argument that such a car won't sell in significant numbers without the higher profile and improved brand image already in place.

"There's no question it's a gamble, but [Kia] is looking to create a point of difference [and] the point of difference can't come from iterations of 'same-old, same-old'. That's one of the reasons that Soul is around -- it's a brand exercise just as much as it's a product exercise," he says.

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