2024 started off terribly for Kia. Following countless reports of older models like the Sportage being targeted for theft after a viral TikTok video revealed their poor security features, Kia topped the list of most stolen vehicles in America. The situation was so bad that the city of Milwaukee threatened a lawsuit in late 2021, and the LAPD had to encourage owners to use steering wheel locks, AirTags, and other means to try to keep their cars safe. TikTok eventually removed all posts by the so-called “Kia Boyz,” but the damage had been done. With that in mind, Kia’s decision to embrace TikTok specifically, launching a car configurator on the popular app, may seem a bit strange, since that’s where Kia’s reputation took the biggest hit. But digging a little deeper, it looks like Kia may have made a move other automakers will wish they had come up with first.
Kia
Kia is a South Korean automaker headquartered in Seoul. It was originally founded in 1944 as a bicycle manufacturer which later built small motorcycles, and Mazda-licensed trucks and cars. After building an assembly plant in th early 70s, the company also produced the Bisa range of cars until 1981 before coming to a half due to the political situation at the time. Production kicked off again in 1986 in partnership with Ford, and in 1992 the company started sellling cars in North America. Today it is the second-largest automaker in South Korea, right behind Hyundai.
Founded June 9, 1944 (as Kyungsung Precision Industry)
Founder Kim Cheol-ho
Headquarters Seoul, South Korea
Owned By Hyundai Motor Group
Current CEO Ho Sung Song
In this feature we look at the impact of social marketing, and how it might change the automotive landscape in the USA. This is an opinion piece, backed by research from multiple sources.
Online Marketing Is Nothing New, But It’s Evolving
Kia/Tiktok
Gone are the days when automakers had just a handful of cars in their range, and gone are the days when an automaker catered exclusively to a specific segment. Even Lamborghini and Ferrari now make SUVs to appeal to a broader audience, but a diverse range of products isn’t always enough in a world where CEOs come and go based on share price.
To try to unlock more earning potential, automakers are trying new ideas. Giants like BMW and Tesla have tried to earn more through subscription services for in-car features, and some have tried a subscription model for car rentals, too. These initiatives have not been particularly effective, but just as many people order take-out, purchase Christmas gifts, and book flights online more than at brick-and-mortar stores, so the dealer model is becoming slightly less relevant.
Not only is it more convenient for a customer to shop online, but direct-to-consumer car sales can help buyers avoid excessive markups from greedy dealers, which are only expected to get worse. Hyundai Motor Group has recognized this emerging demand for online sales, and although it’s taken a while to work out the kinks, you can now buy a new Hyundai on Amazon. It’ll take a while for any of these ideas to show their worth, but I think that Kia’s TikTok move could be the most important of all, and here’s why.
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Kia/Tiktok
Whether your most-used social network is Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or X, you’re bound to come across ads every couple of posts. And they work – most of us have bought at least something we saw on a social media app. I’m among them; I’ve bought watches, model cars, clothes, and home appliances I never would otherwise have even thought of looking at because of a well-executed reel.
But Americans are only scratching the surface. In China, the popular social media app Weibo is directly linked with the e-commerce site Alibaba, and social shopping there has been booming for years. According to local publication JingDaily, emerging markets like Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are slowly catching up with China, the current leader in social shopping, with consumers in these regions consistently spending more through social media than those in Europe and the US. A Q1 2024 survey based on McKinsey ConsumerWise Global Sentiment Data reveals that 45 percent of consumers said they had used social media to make purchases in the past 3 months, versus just 20 percent of US customers and 14 percent of EU consumers.
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That means there is immense room for growth in the American and European markets, and according to Forbes, social commerce is projected to hit a stunning $1.2 trillion market value before 2024 comes to a close. Social commentator and successful online entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk said in an interview with CNBC two weeks ago that live social shopping is about to “disrupt multiple industries,” citing algorithms’ ability to bring online content to audiences as a key driver. In the old days, a consumer had to flip to a specific television station like QVC to do television shopping – now, the in-app algorithm of their preferred social network will bring these shopping events to the right customer, often whether they’re a follower or not.
Kia Won’t Be The Only One
With live social shopping set to boom in popularity in 2025, Kia may have just made the most important marketing decision in its history. Yes, Kia has only rolled out an online configurator for now, but this is surely just one early step, and it’s only a matter of time before every step of the car-buying process becomes digital. Auction houses like Mecum may start hosting live online bidding with certain lots being sold exclusively via social media, while automakers could offer a limited appearance package for an outgoing model directly to buyers through the TikTok Shop, potentially reaching more customers than articles on sites like this one. On a smaller scale, a local dealer who has too much inventory of a certain model could host a live session on Instagram, walking buyers through the lot and discussing the deals on offer.
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Social shopping in general is ready to explode, and Kia seems ready to make the most of it with this initial step. People are addicted to their phones, and that will only keep increasing until we’re all commuting in robotaxis and have forgotten what steering wheels were for. When that day comes, Kia will have been well-integrated into the social media fabric. Despite whatever challenges lie ahead (shipping a car is a lot more complex than mailing a new pair of sneakers), I’m willing to bet that by this time next year, Kia won’t be the only automaker trying to sell you a car from within your favorite app.
