Kia India appoints Gwanggu Lee as MD and CEO with immediate effect

Lee will be replacing Tae Jin Park, who has been the India head of the South Korean carmaker for the last four years. The company said that Park is retiring after his 36-year-long journey with Kia

Kia India on Tuesday announced it is appointing Gwanggu Lee as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) with immediate effect.

Lee will be replacing Tae Jin Park, who has been the India head of the South Korean carmaker for the last four years. In its statement, the company said that Park is retiring after his 36-year-long journey with Kia.

Lee has held leadership positions in various capacities in both developed and developing economies, including roles in the US, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Kia Headquarters in Central and South America, and Kia Europe Headquarters in Germany.

His recent role as President at Kia Mexico played a pivotal role in the company's substantial growth and establishment as a production and export hub, Kia's statement noted.

Kia India anticipates a 10 per cent growth in volume sales in 2024, with the deliveries of facelift launches of Sonet and Seltos gaining momentum this year, Park had said last month.

Nevertheless, he had said that he anticipates the domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales of the overall industry to stay "flat" in 2024, as demand primarily exists for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) rather than other segments.

In October 2023, Maruti Suzuki India's Chairman R C Bhargava had said that the Indian PV industry expects zero growth in its volume sales in the next financial year, primarily due to the ongoing decline in sales within the small car segment.

Kia unveiled its Sonet facelift on December 14. The company last year sold 254,556 units in India and it is expecting to sell the same number of units this year too, Park told reporters on the sidelines of the Sonet facelift's unveiling. The South Korean carmaker unveiled the Seltos facelift in July this year.

Park mentioned that the company faced challenges in 2023 as sales of the older Sonet and Seltos tapered off for certain periods, attributed to customers awaiting the facelifts. "The customers already know that the old model is going out, and a new (facelift) model is coming....That has impacted our sales this year. Next year, we will be selling new Seltos and new Sonet....We have a little bit aggressive target for the next year at 10 per cent as compared to this year," he added.