AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Kia Soul EV

Initial Kia Soul EV Price Set at $33,700

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

September 15, 2014

The all-new 2015 Kia Soul EV price is about what you might expect. It will begin with a sticker price of $33,700, plus an $875 destination fee. However, there is a $7,500 federal tax credit that drops the final price to under $30,000.

Debuting in October, the Kia Soul EV will primarily be available in California. In 2015, it’s Kia’s intention to bring the Soul EV to other states that follow California’s lead of requiring car manufacturers to sell zero-emission cars that run on battery power or convert hydrogen into electricity using fuel cells. States currently under consideration include Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.

California motorists have set the tone for years when it comes to electric vehicles. Earlier this month, the 100,000th plug-in vehicle was sold to a California driver. That’s an amazing 40% of all plug-in vehicles sold in the entire country!

Kia Soul EV Facts and Figures

The Kia Soul EV gets an impressive average of 93 miles on a single charge – one of the better numbers among electric vehicles despite being one of the roomier models out there. Still, it pales in comparison to the 265 miles per charge generated by Tesla.

The Soul EV has been produced to have the same look and feel as their gas-powered siblings – but that’s where the similarities end. The 27-kWh batteries power an electric motor generating 109 horsepower and 210 lbs.-ft. of torque – and the batteries recharge in less than five hours.

How does the Kia Soul EV compare in price to others? While it comes in about $5,000 higher than the Nissan Leaf, it is less expensive than an electric Ford Focus ($35,170) and a Honda Fit EV ($36.625). There will also be a slightly higher-prices Soul EV (called the EV Plus) that includes a package with heated and cooled leather seats, fog lights, and power-folding mirrors.

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Post-Pandemic Dealer Gross Profits are Down – But They Don’t Have to Stay There!
March 13, 2024
It is no secret that dealer gross profits per vehicle are down sharply in the post-COVID automotive world. According to a recent article in Automotive News, gross profits of the six largest publicly traded dealership groups plunged significantly from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. One of them was actually down 35% per vehicle!

The article explains: High interest rates, more expensive vehicles and a steadier post-pandemic supply chain continue to soften demand and bring it closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, new-car buying has remained strong overall …

This means that, while sales volume is similar, overall bottom lines are lower for many dealers due to the reduced gross profits. What about your dealership?

Being Realistic
It’s time to turn the page! The time for dealers to simply be order takers for people willing to pay MSRP for a vehicle (and in some cases more) has passed and dealers have to work hard once again to achieve acceptable gross profits.

Selling a high volume of cars doesn’t control gross profits, no matter how much you wish this was the case. Correct processes and menu pricing – and strict adherence to them – do!

What kind of processes?
∙ Slow down the transaction! Your sales staff has to once again sell the customer on the features and benefits of every new and pre-owned vehicle on your lot.

∙ Your salespeople and managers should devalue the customers’ trade-in value (politely, of course) as much as possible. After all, if the customer expects you to lower your price, shouldn’t you be able to do the same on their trade? Remember, you’ll have to fix it up, put your name on it and resell it to someone else with all the tenacity you would a brand-new car. So make sure you buy it right … because the profit is made when you buy it, not when you sell it!

∙ To that end, management should be ready and willing to leave the desk and do thorough walk-arounds on each trade to ensure the best outcome for the dealership.

The Cure for Low Gross Profits
If you are like a lot of dealers these days, you could use some good news. Here it is: while you may not have the capability to achieve profit margins similar to those you enjoyed during the pandemic, they could likely be improved. JKR’s clients enjoy the benefit of attracting not only more customers, but better ones, too!

If meeting and exceeding your sales goals (and increasing gross profits at the same time) sounds great to you, you need to call us. Don’t settle for reduced gross profits when help is out there to get you closer to where you’d like to be.

Want to know how we do it? Reach out to Senior Partner Richard Brauns (407) 701-4233 or Partner/Vice President Jon Albert (407) 718-2494 today.

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