[Conference Call] Kia Holds Two Months of Global Inventory... Tariff Impact to Start in May

On April 25, Kia announced its first-quarter results, stating, "Including dealer inventory, we have enough inventory worldwide to cover two months. If we look only at corporate inventory, we have about 0.5 months' worth of stock."

The company added, "Due to the impact of tariffs, we did push to ship some additional volume to the United States, but in the case of hybrids, it is not possible to allocate all inventory exclusively for the U.S. market. The impact of tariffs will begin to be felt starting in May, when the current inventory is depleted."

Kia further explained, "In response to U.S. tariffs, our basic strategy is to prioritize selling vehicles produced in the United States within the U.S. market. While the Georgia plant currently exports some vehicles to Canada, Mexico, and other regions, our primary focus is to meet demand within the United States first."

However, "We need to approach pricing more cautiously. Rather than making immediate adjustments to offset the impact of tariffs, we will focus on how to maintain our market position and turn this challenging situation into an opportunity as market demand declines. We will take a more careful approach to pricing after further consideration."