Kia to address minivan order backlog this year 

KIA Philippines Motor Corp. is optimistic that it would resolve the order backlog for its Carnival minivan offering within the year as supply is expected to improve by the second half of the year.

“We have a backlog of 500 cars of the Carnival nationwide. That’s how underserved the Carnival is,” Kia Philippines Chief Operating Officer Brian James B. Buendia said in a chance interview last week. 

With this, Mr. Buendia said Kia Asia-Pacific is adjusting its supply allocation for the Philippine market to meet the order backlog. 

“We’ve been talking with Kia regional [office] about this and we’ve been showing them the demand here in the Philippines and the opportunity,” he said. “They’re adjusting their allocation, so probably we’ll see better supply by the third quarter, towards the end of the year.”

As of end-May, 240 units of the Carnival had been sold, which is equivalent to 11% of Kia Philippines’ overall sales.   

According to Mr. Buendia, the order backlog for the Carnival was caused by the shortage of chips used in its production. The company officially launched the latest iteration of its minivan in February last year.   

“When we launched the new Carnival, it was not only popular here, it was also popular across the world. We know about the chip shortage of last year. The chips are coming in but [with] the volume of the backlog, the chips are not enough to serve that volume,” he said.

In February, Kia Philippines was awarded as the top sales performer among the South Korean brand’s distributors in the Asia-Pacific region for 2022 as it sold 5,012 units, up 34% from 3,748 units sold in 2021.

Kia Philippines currently has 45 dealerships in the country and is eyeing to have 50 dealerships by 2024.

From January to May, industry data showed that the company sold 2,099 units, up 9.9% from the 1,910 units sold in the same period last year. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave