LOS ANGELES — Kia Motors America named Bill Peffer chief operating officer and executive vice president after serving as vice president of sales operations since July 2017.
Peffer, 50, will lead all customer-facing functions in the U.S., Kia said in a statement, including sales, marketing and service. He will report to Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia Motors America and Kia Motors North America.
The appointment is effective Jan. 1.
“In the most difficult of circumstances, Kia’s U.S. sales have outperformed the industry throughout 2020 under Bill’s leadership,” Yoon said in the statement Thursday. “This promotion is well deserved, and with five all-new and significantly redesigned vehicles slated for introduction in 2021 Bill will play an increasingly important role in the growth and maturation of the Kia brand.”
Prior to his arrival at Kia in July 2017 to steer sales, Peffer had been president and COO of New England dealership group Balise Motor Sales in West Springfield, Mass.
Before joining Balise, he had a 10-month stint as Cadillac’s head of sales after leaving Nissan Australia as CEO. He has also worked for Ford Motor Co.
In June, Kia Motors America announced that unit president Michael Cole was leaving the brand and taking a position as CEO for Hyundai Europe. Kia and Hyundai share a parent company, Hyundai Motor Group. At the time of Cole’s departure, Kia said the president post would be assumed by Yoon.
Kia also said Thursday that Russell Wager has been promoted to vice president of marketing and will report to Peffer. Wager, 55, has been director of marketing operations at Kia Motors America since July 2019. Previously, he was vice president of marketing at Mazda North American Operations.
“Russell has instilled new energy into Kia’s U.S. marketing activities and played a significant role in driving more first-time Kia shoppers to our showrooms,” Yoon said.
Kia has been one of the best-performing brands during the coronavirus crisis.
Through the first nine months of the year, U.S. sales at Kia slid 7.6 percent compared with the industry average of 18 percent. Kia notched a 12 percent sales gain in October and a drop of just 5 percent in November despite three fewer selling days compared with November 2019.
“Under Peffer’s leadership as vice president of sales operations,” Kia said,” KMA is on the cusp of achieving the highest retail sales total in company history through the development of a consistent and sustainable partnership with the dealer network.”