Kia Canada Accused Of Withholding Deliveries To Game Its Sales Numbers

While customers wait months for the delivery of their new vehicles, Kia Canada has decided to lock up its inventory in warehouses to game sales figures and avoid looking too successful in front of the big bosses, a CBC report reveals.

The Kia Amanti Was Basically a Knock-Off Mercedes

CBC’s story hinges on a video obtained by Go Public, the CBC’s investigative news arm. In this November 17 video, Kia regional sales manager Vince Capicotto told representatives from over 100 dealerships that Kia Canada had already comfortably hit its sales target for the year — so “Kia Canada wants to control wholesale and retail performance in 2023 to not show high over-achievement.”

Capicotto cited a fear that Kia’s global headquarters would stop providing marketing assistance to Kia Canada in 2024 if its 2023 sales figures were too strong.

The solution, per Capicotto, was to lock up plenty of Kia inventory in various warehouses to prevent distribution until 2024; only a small amount of inventory would head off to dealer lots during the final six weeks of 2023.

The move was deeply unpopular among many of the Kia dealers on the call. From the CBC:

As Capicotto delivered the news, Kia employees on the conference call — their microphones muted — started to type comments in the chat box.

“I’ve been with the brand since 2004,” wrote one person. “This is the first time I’ve seen the dealer body penalized for selling too many vehicles.”

“This shows a complete lack of respect for every dealer in Canada … and our customers,” wrote another. “No sold units should ever be held, they should be expedited.”

Another employee dismissed the scheme to secure more marketing support in 2024. “We don’t need marketing,” he wrote. “We need cars.”

Many dealers expressed frustration that their stock was set to be artificially limited ahead of the holiday season. This has left franchises in a lurch and means that sales staff — which operates on commission — would be offered fewer opportunities to make money. One manager at an Ontario dealership told Go Public that some of his customers have walked away from their car deals when learning that they’d be facing even longer delays in actually receiving the vehicle.

The auto industry was deeply rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in supply chain slowdowns that ultimately reduced the number of vehicles that could be produced by car companies. Car prices then skyrocketed, even as the industry still aims to settle into this “new normal.” It is stunning that Kia Canada has responded to the slow resurgence of auto production by artificially limiting sales — all to avoid losing some marketing budget.