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Kia Vastly Underestimated Demand for Telluride


CKNSLS

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At the end of June Cars Direct reported there were barely 700 Tellurides listed for sale nationwide while there were over 20,000 Ford Explorers and 12,000 Honda Pilots on dealers’ lots.

 

 

When the Telluride debuted in February 2019, Kia set an annual production capacity of 60,000 Tellurides at its only U.S. production facility in West Point, Georgia, where certain trims of the Sorento and Optima are made as well..

“We blew past that and ramped it to 100,000 units,” Bell told The Car Connection. Meeting demand “is going to be tight even at 100,000, but it’s the best we can do.”

 

https://jalopnik.com/kia-vastly-underestimated-demand-for-the-telluride-suv-1844293702

 

I'm expecting the new Escape to go down in flames/sales wise. And with the Explorer we will never really know now the the Police Interceptor isn't broken out. But Kia has a good problem-if you are going to have problems.

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13 minutes ago, CKNSLS said:

I'm expecting the new Escape to go down in flames/sales wise. And with the Explorer we will never really know now the the Police Interceptor isn't broken out.


We heard you the first 100 times.

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I actually love the styling.  Saw one in an almost matte grey that was stunning.

 

When you put luxury look and feel with bargain pricing you’ll sell a lot of them.  I still have to wonder if they’re turning a profit but you can’t fault the vehicle.  

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I've seen more Telluride's and Pallisade's than new Explorer and Aviator combined. 

 

I've seen maybe a dozen of the new Explorers and 2 Aviators.  Probably 3 times that for the Kia/Hyundia twins.  But this is North Dakota...

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I see new Explorer everywhere, a fairly even mix of trims. I saw new PI's in Indiana over the weekend, which was a first seeing the new gen PI. Haven't seen too many Aviators outside of Michigan.

 

It's funny, much like the Stinger, I was seeing Telluride's everywhere when they first came out. I haven't seen one in a while.

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2 hours ago, 92merc said:

I've seen more Telluride's and Pallisade's than new Explorer and Aviator combined. 

 

I've seen maybe a dozen of the new Explorers and 2 Aviators.  Probably 3 times that for the Kia/Hyundia twins.  But this is North Dakota...

I think it has to do with it looking a little too much like the old one. I have a hard time telling them apart at first glance, but now I look for the somewhat diagonal character lines down the side of the new one. In New England, the new Explorers are getting pretty common as of late.

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36 minutes ago, atomcat68 said:

I just looked up The Kia for its specs and I was shocked! I thought it was RWD/AWD and it's FWD/AWD! I thought it was a redesign of the Borrego and it's really a new product!

 

It's essentially just a larger Sorrento.   Plebian but perfectly acceptable platform - they spent all the money on the interior.   And for a lot of buyers that's all that matters.

 

Ford put all their money into the CD6 platform which did yield a 400 HP Explorer ST.

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1 hour ago, atomcat68 said:

I just looked up The Kia for its specs and I was shocked! I thought it was RWD/AWD and it's FWD/AWD! I thought it was a redesign of the Borrego and it's really a new product!

 

Yes sir, Kia Borrego/Mohave is a body on frame SUV completely distinct from Telluride. And in the U.S. market, from a sales and marketing standpoint Borrego had the opposite problem of Telluride: too little demand. Kia U.S. cancelled imports of the Borrego after only 2 years.

 

Borrego/Mohave lives on in South Korea. It was recently refreshed.

 

 

Edited by rperez817
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On 7/8/2020 at 1:38 PM, akirby said:

 

It's essentially just a larger Sorrento.   Plebian but perfectly acceptable platform - they spent all the money on the interior.   And for a lot of buyers that's all that matters.

 

Ford put all their money into the CD6 platform which did yield a 400 HP Explorer ST.

475hp and a crap ton more torque for some of us.. for a little extra $$$ lol

Edited by blwnsmoke
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On 7/8/2020 at 2:20 AM, robertlane said:

There isn't a week that goes by that I don't see a Telluride on the road here in Fla. . .I saw two today.  Although, the south is chocked full of imports.

 

Going back to 2019, Ford sold 30,000ish +/- Explorer Police vehicles per quarter.

 

In central FL, they are all over the place....and after only a few months they are blending in so much they now look nondescript to my eyes at least. Especially the lower trim levels. Conversely, the Aviator/Explorer still look fresh to my eyes. Hyundai/Kia vehicles always look like clones even though their styling is better.

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