MANILA: To keep up with the changes in the direction of the auto industry, some manufacturers have opted to change their brand logo to reflect that they are evolving with the times, one of which is Kia Motors. The South Korean automaker has filed a trademark application for a new logo design dated November 26, 2019, with the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS).

Kia’s move to redesign their logo to reposition their company’s image is not something new. Earlier this year, Volkswagen also unveiled a redesigned logo, while its group company Skoda already made changes in its logo as early as 2016.

The new corporate logo and badge design filed by Kia uses a stylized modern 2D design in black and red that can easily be replicated and recognized as the Kia brand. The new logo showcases how much the brand has evolved over the years.

From the basic and affordable vehicles that it produced when the company initially launched, to reinvent itself to be a brand that is known for quality and style, and now, with the new badge comes a new corporate identity for Kia as it moves increasingly towards mobility solutions that go beyond ICE vehicles. With the new logo, Kia would mark the shedding of its old image as it reinvents itself towards building a new identity that is more forward-looking.

What remains to be seen is if the new logo will be used to differentiate its hybrid and electric vehicles or will it be the same badge used across all vehicles in the company’s portfolio. These speculations stem from the fact that the new logo design has already been introduced in the public.

Kia has used the new badge design in a couple of concept cars during the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Particularly, the Imagine concept and the Futuron concept vehicles but the badge though was not in black or white but rather illuminated in white. The redesigned logo could also be used in future models as part of the new direction that the company is embarking on. Especially now that Kia has employed a new chief designer, Karim Habib from Infiniti.

Checking at the KIPRIS website, Kia made the first filing on July 29 but there were additional documents filed on November 26. The registration date and publication dates are still empty, which means the company has yet to receive the official stamp of approval from the Korean authorities.

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