Kia Debuts On-Demand “Kia@Home” Car Shopping Experience
Photo: Kia
The COVID-19 pandemic created various immediate needs for consumers of all kinds. One industry that saw a meteoric rise was at-home shopping, specifically in the auto industry. Rather than immediately visiting a dealership in person to get a feel for a car, consumers are more likely to do a ton of research online before getting anywhere near another human. Kia is hoping to help people even more with its new Kia@Home on-demand car shopping experience.
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“Personalized, convenient, and on-demand, Kia@Home brings an interactive and unique Kia experience to shoppers when and where they want,” said Russell Wager, vice president of marketing at Kia America. “The all-new Carnival MPV and all-electric Niro EV are two of Kia’s most high-tech offerings, and now consumers can get behind-the-wheel for up-close-and-personal test drives in their own individual, real-world settings.”
Starting out, customers will be able to book scheduled at-home test drives of the all-new Carnival MPV or the Niro EV on the Kia website. Finding this was a bit tricky, as you have to go to the individual vehicle pages for each model to see the “Test Drive At Home” button in the top right corner of the screen. At the time of writing, there doesn’t seem to be a main Kia@Home landing page for more information on the program.
Photo: Kia
Appointments last for an hour and once they are scheduled, a Kia@Home Drive Specialist will arrive at the customer’s home with the vehicle they want to test out. Only a handful of major cities are able to test Kia@Home at this time. Both the Carnival MPV and Niro EV are available in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The Carnival MPV is also available on its own in Cleveland, Columbus (Ohio), Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, and Tampa.
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While the customer will ultimately have to work with their local dealership to finalize a lease or purchase, Kia is hoping this at-home test driving experience will help people get a true understanding of the craftsmanship and advanced technology that goes into each vehicle.
Ben never thought he’d be writing about cars for a living, but here he is, knowing more about the Kia Stinger than he’d care to admit. When he’s not devoting his time to researching engine specs and other oh-so-exciting car details, he can be found enjoying time with his wife and dogs. See more articles by Ben.