Question Of The Day: Kia Today, Gone Tomorrow?

If you’re reading this article, that means Fuhrer Schmitt has figured out under what moniker this article should be filed under. As far as I’m concerned it should be a “Question Of The Day”, but it could easily slot into “WTF” and “Wild Arse Rumor Of The Day”. So, here we go…

I was grazing the internet whilst watching “ That Mitchell And Webb Look” on DVD when I came across an article by Business Insider entitled “Here Are The 10 Brands That Will Disappear In 2011”. So, I hit the pause button on my DVD player and took a look to see what they predicted. It starts off with names I pretty much suspected would disappear; names like “Reader’s Digest”, “Blockbuster Video” and “Radio Shack” (which I thought HAD already gone). Then, the article starts to get a bit suspect. It starts predicting that “BP” will enter bankruptcy and may even be broken up in order to distance itself from the Deepwater Horizon spill. A prediction which I think won’t come to fruition. However, what really made me double-take was the final brand they predicted will disappear in 2011. Kia.

Business Insider bases the claim on the following evidence.

• One: That it’s always been a marginal brand (argue that point amongst yourselves) and that coupled with its sister brand, Hyundai, it comes off as a seller of “‘low rent’ cars and SUV’s” (their words, not mine).
• Two: Because of GM and Ford’s retreat from the multiple branding business model, Hyundai will be keen not to repeat he same mistake.
• Three: Kia vehicles sell for between $14,000 and $25,000, a price band which Hyundai already caters for. The trouble is Kia sells well in the US market, with their sales up around 15 percent for the year 2010 to date, and no signs of slowing down.

It’s pretty hard to justify closing down a brand (which is selling well), laying off all those dealers and forking out more money to win back customers from Kia to the Hyundai marque. So, I put it to you, is Business Insider orating from deep within their alimentary canal? Or could there be some validity to this theory?