With "a little help from its sports sponsorship," Kia Motors U.K. & Ireland President & CEO Paul Philpott is confident that "the company can make its mark," according to Andrew Cave of the London TELEGRAPH. Kia Motors is a sponsor of Surrey County Cricket Club and its Oval test cricket ground "and a partner of English women’s cricket." Kia is also the title sponsor of tennis’s Australian Open, while its parent group, the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world’s fourth largest car manufacturer, remains a FIFA global partner. With the Ashes secured, cricket "seems the safest sport to start talking about." Philpott said, "Cricket has been very successful for us. Kia has only been selling cars in the U.K. since 1991. ... Setting up a presence in London was quite challenging. That was behind our reasoning to sponsor Surrey and the Kia Oval, an iconic London venue with great branding opportunities, and we’ve had a very successful tie-up for us. We’re hopeful that the resurgence of the England cricket team will help build our brand." FIFA "is trickier." Philpott: "The FIFA sponsorship is a global deal negotiated and agreed at our global head office in Seoul. ... Of course, we live by ethical standards and transparency and the investigations into FIFA executives are concerning to us." Kia’s recent U.K. growth "is impressive." Helped by an annual U.K. advertising budget of £20M ($31M), "it expects more than 80,000 car sales this year, making it the company’s fifth biggest market" after China, the U.S., South Korea and Russia (TELEGRAPH, 8/23).
