April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors  America has tapped Bill Peffer as its new vice president of sales, filling up the long-vacant job in the all-important US market. 

Peffer will assume the new post overseeing Kia’s sales in the US starting July 24, according to the carmaker. 

The 46-year-old industry veteran most recently served as president and COO at Balise Motor Sales, a large dealership group based in Massachusetts since 2014. Before that he has led sales at General Motors’ Cadillac brand for 10 months. Peffer also completed a seven year stint at Nissan Motor, during which he headed Nissan Australia, as well as 13 years with Ford Motor.


 

Bill Peffer

“Bill Peffer brings vast experience and a global perspective to Kia’s US operations and we are pleased to welcome him to the team,” said Justin Sohn, president and CEO of Kia Motors America, in a statement. “Bill’s commitment to dealers and focus on the customer experience are a perfect fit for Kia and his arrival will bolster our efforts to increase demand for our award-winning vehicles.”

Peffer will report to Michael Sprague, COO and executive vice president of Kia, who previously held the sales job before being promoted to the current post in 2015. 

He is tasked to revive Kia’s slowed sales, hit by reduction in fleet sales amid industry-wide slump. In June, Kia sold 56,143 units, down 10.3 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, its bigger corporate cousin Hyundai’s sales dropped 21.7 percent on-year to 52,894 units in the same period. 

Kia is betting big on its new premium Stinger sports sedan, which will be launched sometime in the second half, to gain sales back in the country. However, the carmaker is not releasing its compact SUV Stonic, which is making a July debut in Korea, in the American market. 

Kia recently hired former Maserati global CMO Saad Chehab as vice president of marketing communication, in a move to take the carmaker’s marketing campaign to another level for the Stinger launch.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)