Kia says vehicle supply sufficient despite global chip shortage

MANILA, Philippines — Kia Philippines said it has sufficient vehicle supply despite a global chip shortage.

“The supplies we have are based on dealer orders so there should be sufficient supplies,” Kia Philippines president Manny Aligada said in a text message.

He said the global chip shortage has affected everyone, including Kia, with some of its vehicle models experiencing a delay of two to three months.

However, he said Kia Philippines was able to make adjustments to its orders.

“Fortunately, Kia Corp. gave us some advance info when they felt supplies were likely to get tight last year. So, we adjusted our order levels to compensate for the possible delays, even if this would cost more,” he said.

Some of the vehicle models such as the K2500, Seltos and the Soluto were affected.

He said overall, the firm has enough supply.

“Note, however, that the K2500 units need the fabrication of the body and that depends on the customer requirements. That info on the K2500 is shared with the customer when they buy,” he said.

Strong demand and disruptions in production due to the pandemic have both contributed to the global shortage in semiconductors.

Aligada earlier said Kia Philippines was aiming to sell a total of 6,000 units this year.

Kia Philippines sold 3,748 vehicles in 2021.