Why LA’s new Kia Forum could be ‘the Carnegie Hall of the West,’ according to COO

Kia America Chief Operating Officer & EVP Steven Center joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the prospects for the Kia Forum arena, stadium event experiences, the EV space, Kia's expansion into electric cars.

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[MUSIC PLAYING] - With the experience economy charting its comeback, KIA America wants in on the action. The company has purchased multiyear naming rights to the LA forum. And here with more, we've got Steven Center, who is the KIA America Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President. Steve, great to take the time here with you today to really dive in on why now, especially as the experienced economy is trying to get people back into these in-person experiences, both concerts, sports, and more. STEVEN CENTER: Well, first of all, let me say that we were just so excited to have this relationship with such an iconic venue. You could almost consider the KIA Forum to be the Carnegie Hall of the West, when you consider its rich history and all the acts that have performed here. Society is opening up again. People are wanting to get out. KIA is a brand on the rise. Automobiles are experiential. Music is experiential. It's what brings people together. So we think the timing is perfect. And it's a great match for our company. - As we're seeing here, one of the highest grossing arenas in the US. Tell us about the difference in the experience that fans, spectators can expect now with the KIA Forum really taking hold as one of those new areas that people are going to be able to tap into, in the West? STEVEN CENTER: Well, the whole area is rejuvenated with the development that's occurred and the stadium next door. In the case of KIA, we're certainly hoping to make the experience better. We're going to install electric charging facilities, so that visitors to the concerts can charge their vehicles for free. And we're also establishing the KIA Forum, which will be an exclusive venue for KIA's guests to enjoy the concerts and have some back private time. - What is an investment like this, quantitatively, cost, at the end of the day? As we're trying to wrap our minds around the numbers that you're going to see not just in revenue at the KIA Forum. But what type of investment did KIA have to put forward, KIA America have to put forward, for these rights? STEVEN CENTER: Well, while we're not going to talk about time or money, it's an investment in the brand. It's an investment in our recognition, our association with the venue, and with concerts and with good times. And it's also an investment in the community because we want to be recognized as contributing to the community that we do business in. - Even the experience here, it has a nod to the electric vehicle landscape, right now, that is certainly seeing an inflection point, considering some of the rising energy prices that consumers have taken on, unfortunately. EV charging stations, they're going to be involved within this experience. But on the EV side, what have you, at KIA America, seen, in terms of some of the uptick in demand over these most recent weeks and even months, as consumers are facing higher energy prices? STEVEN CENTER: It's been incredible. And I think there's two dynamics. There's the fuel-- the petrol fuel prices, which are certainly a factor. But the reality is people want electric cars. And people all over the country are buying electric cars. We had record sales of our electrified vehicles last month. In the second month of production, we had over 3,100 sales of our brand new EV6 And that's incredible. And this isn't just California. This is all over the country, in the Midwest, in the South. So this is beyond regulations. It's market demand now. - You plan to build 11 new electric vehicles by 2026. Tell us about the roadmap for that, especially as the automotive industry, at large, has been facing some of its own supply chain concerns. STEVEN CENTER: So the plan, globally, is to have 40% of our sales electrified by 2030 and 100% by 2040. At the beginning of 2021, we announced our Plan S initiative, which stands for Plan Shift. And it's a shift to electrified products. At the same time, we introduce the EV6 this year, which is the first vehicle on our EGMP platform, which is the platform of the future for developing and implementing the electric cars. - Additionally, for electric cars, it comes down to the battery, obviously, here. So where have you also seen the ability to make sure that you are not just sourcing the right materials for the vehicle, but also, creating a battery experience that differentiates itself against the rest of the market. STEVEN CENTER: Absolutely. so I think it even goes beyond the battery to the overall character of the car and the performance attributes. And we have some variants of EV6 coming out in the next year that are really going to knock people's socks off. Driving electric is never going to be the same.