It is great to be able to travel again and explore the new mobility shows found around the world. The Seoul Mobility Show 2023 is the first of many to come, which includes our own Philippine Motorshows; the Manila International Automobile Show (MIAS) that includes the MIAS Custom and Classic Car Competition, and the CAMPI-led Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS), but there are others happening concurrently, like the 44^th Bangkok International Motor Show and the upcoming 20^th Shanghai Auto Show before the end of the month.

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The Seoul Mobility Show did have a nice balance of domestic and international exhibitions that mostly showcased electrified solutions whether in pure form or supported by ICE hybrid engines that also included airborne mobility, e-motorcycles and a myriad of dedicated electrified solutions applied to logistics and specific public/commercial transport. One of my personal favorites was the Microlino city car.

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Though I was primarily hosted by Kia Philippines, there was no doubt that the joint family participating companies of Hyundai and Genesis also presented their latest and greatest which altogether organically out shown the traditional European powerhouses of Porsche, BMW, MINI, and Mercedes-Benz.

Due to fierce competition in the automotive world, especially coming from new emerging brands, resurrected old marques, and the deluge of affordable high-quality products from China, the Korean mobility solutions have set new wholistically higher standards than ever before that go beyond the vehicles themselves and into the buying, exploring, and after sales experiences.

The Philippine Media contingent got to test drive three all-new Kia models, the Niro, Sportage, and K8 over a brief 3.3-kilometer city route while also literally experiencing the new Kia360 Experience Center (consists of Design Zones and User Zones like Mixed Reality and Surround Media, it also showcases the best of Kia automotive vehicles through different angles and times) located at Cyberhub, Gurugram and the Kia Flagship store in Gangseo where the test cars were located that features their new Global Space Identity (GSI 2.0) strategy as well as their new high-speed “E.pit” charging stations.

The two new facilities are truly great brand and product feature showcases but their cost to reproduce in markets outside of Korea, especially in the Philippines, would be just too financially restrictive for dealers. The hope though is that the principles presented would inspire creative alternative ways to realistically execute consistent or similar sales results combined with heightened customer satisfaction without increasing costs to the customers.

The biggest reveal for Kia during the mobility show was the all-new three-row fully-electrified EV9 full-size crossover which does look and feel amazing. The EV9 applies the Electric Global Modular Platform using Kia’s 4^th generation battery technology. The Standard model with rear-wheel drive uses a 76.1-kWh battery, while a 99.8-kWh battery is fitted to both the Rear Wheel Drive Long Range and All Wheel Drive variants. Its longest cruising range is projected to be over 540-kilometers. The claimed power and dynamic figures are all very attractive and compelling, even from the entry models. The designs and packaging are also outstanding with generous applications of recycled materials and innovative interior comforts that include Relaxation Seats and 180-degree swivel seats for the second row, in fact Kia is offering four seating options for the second row. Other standout features include Level 3 autonomous driving capability and fully Remote Smart Parking Assist.

I am very confident that the Kia EV9 will be a resounding hit and very desirable however the soonest it may be available in our market will be approximately 3 years from now and the retail price may be very challenging. While Kia presented mostly already available models aside from the EV9, Hyundai revealed the updated 8-generation Sonata among multiple concept and dynamic models. Genesis also presented its own upscale bespoke models as well.

Aside from the lovely cultural and gastronomic experiences courtesy of Kia Philippines (our gratitude to Manny Aligada, Timmy De Leon, Marikit Bati, and Catsy Manahan), the fundamental takeaway from this Seoul Mobility show is that Korea has seriously elevated its mobility game on all fronts reestablishing that they are not just competitive and attainable but ultimately more desirable than ever before. So, once again, the Philippine consumers and buyers the world over are only going to get great mobility solutions at every price and configuration to suite everyone’s requirements. Case in point, on our return from this Kia Philippines media trip, we acquired a 2023 Kia Carnival SX in Snow White Pearl to add to our C! Fast Fleet.