Kia Motors Europe has appointed Emilio Herrera as Chief Operating Officer, replacing Michael Cole who will take up a senior position in the Kia Motors global organisation. Mr. Herrera will work at Kia's European headquarters in Frankfurt working closely with the company's president, Mr. Yong Kew Park.
Emilio Herrera will be responsible for maintaining the brand's sales growth, as Kia's target for 2018 is 500,000-plus units in Europe. He will also oversee the launch of a new range of vehicles and a total of 16 new models are scheduled to be launched by 2025 - including an all-new electric car with energy cells in 2020.
Mr. Herrera has more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry in Europe. Since December 2012 he has been CEO of Kia Motors Iberia, and before that he was CEO of Kia Motors Belgium.
Born in 1962 in Lausanne (Switzerland), Mr Herrera graduated in 1984 from the Department of Linguistics and Communication at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) and speaks 6 languages.
Mr. Cole has been Chief Operating Officer for Kia Motors Europe since November 2012. Under his supervision there was an unprecedented 40% increase in sales of the Korean brand in Europe, surpassing the 27% achieved during the European market recovery. In 2013, Mr Cole's first full year as COO, Kia Motors Europe sold 337,972 cars and recorded a market share of 2.7%. Sales of 472,125 units in 2017 combined for a market share of 3.0%, while the trend early this year shows a further increase and a market share of 3.1% for January and February 2018. Kia Motors will announce more details about its new role later on.
Michael Cole commented: "I really enjoyed being in Frankfurt, helping Kia to increase sales, market share and prestige in Europe. I would really like to thank our team here and the other teams across the European markets for their help and support over the last 6 years - it has been a pleasure to work with such a talented and dedicated group of people."
On the occasion of his appointment as COO of Kia Motors Europe, Emilio Herrera said: "Michael leaves Kia's European operations in a particularly strong position and I look forward to working to maintain the company's impressive growth in Europe. A range of new cars, systems and technologies will provide us with new opportunities to grow sales as well as our market share in the coming years."
