Interest-free finance for Kia

POTENTIAL Kia buyers now have an interest-free payment option after the Korean car-maker launched a new finance package for some models in February.

People looking to get into a new Kia Optima or Carnival can make a one-off payment of 50 per cent of the purchase price, with no interest and no payment for two years on the remainder.

After two years, owners can alternatively pay out the balance, start a new finance arrangement or trade in the car on a new Kia.

The interest-free finance deal will be available only on Optima mid-size sedan (except the 2013 Platinum), Carnival S and Carnival Si petrol variants from participating dealerships.

Kia’s interest-free finance deal comes after a number of manufacturers introduced low interest, and in some cases, zero per cent finance offers last year.

Renault announced a zero per cent offer in August while local car-maker Holden introduced 0.5 per cent deals in the same month to help reignite sales of its Commodore and Cruze.

Kia finished 2012 on a high note with sales up 22.4 per cent for the year compared to 2011.

Sales for January were steady, with Kia selling 2308 vehicles – a modest 1.4 per cent increase over the same month last year.

After launching in October, January sales of the new Sorento SUV were up 54.4 per cent to 278 units.

While this is a good result fort Kia, it is still a long way from the top sellers in the segment, the Holden Captiva 7 (1337) and Ford Territory (1161).

Despite its age, the Carnival people-mover continues to dominate its segment with 199 sales in January and a 38.8 per cent share of the segment.

The Cerato small car last month recorded a 27.3 per cent drop in sales from January 2012, but those numbers are certain to increase with the Australian launch of the all-new model in April.