"Hit by an unprecedented economic recession, competitors are worried over their survival," a company statement quoted Ahn Byung-mo, president of Kia's U.S. subsidiary, as saying after a meeting with some 900 dealers of its vehicles operating in the U.S.
Kia should use the current "crisis as an opportunity to become a global brand through an aggressive strategy," Ahn said in the statement.
Kia is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380), South Korea's top automaker.
The meeting of Kia dealers comes at a time when the "big three" U.S. automakers, General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler, are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy by begging for their government to provide a US$25 billion loan to keep their businesses afloat.
Last month, Kia's U.S. vehicle sales plunged 39.3 per cent from a year earlier to 15,483 units, according to Choi Dae-shik, an analyst at HI Investment and Securities in Seoul.
(Yonhap)

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