Kia’s Risk: Our Reward

In today’s automotive market a lot of car companies are playing it safe and sticking with the old tried and true without making many changes and updates for fear of losing a following.  The result is the same boring models year after year.

Guess who struck out more times than any other baseball player, the guy who also holds the record for the most home runs.  Guess who got thrown out trying to steal the most bases, the guy who has the record for the most stolen bases.  You don’t get ahead in life playing it safe.  Thank goodness for Kia.

Kia announced at the CES consumer electronics show that it plans to spend an initial 2 billion dollars on advanced driver assistance systems in the next three years as it pursues a goal of fully automated driving by 2030. The Korean carmaker also said it will be grouping all its advanced driver assistance systems under a new brand called “Drive Wise.” Henry Bzeih, chief technology strategist for Kia Motors America (KMA), spoke to automotive IT about Kia’s digital roadmap for the US. Bzeih is also in charge of KMA’s connected-car and technology planning.

Henry Bzeih said, “People at the helm of automotive companies today may be manufacturing or product-oriented, but they are also pragmatic. That’s why many automakers are reinventing their businesses. Customers are demanding it, so you have to make a commitment to technology as one pillar of your product strategy. It’s why we are investing 2 billion dollars in Drive Wise. That’s a lot of money.”

Take a trip and test drive some of this technology at Capitol Kia 13573 U.S. Hwy 183 N. Austin TX or give us a call at 512-583-1900 today!