Kia South Africa launches 'Test Drive for Good' campaign over Heritage Day weekend in KwaZulu-Natal

Gary Scott, CEO of Kia South Africa, with Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of The Gift of the Givers Foundation, at Kia South Africa’s leadership conference at the beginning of September, where Kia South Africa pledged a R100,000 donation to the organisation.

Kia South Africa this week launches a unique ‘Test Drive for Good’ campaign in the KwaZulu-Natal province, inviting all residents in the province to help raise funds for acclaimed Pietermaritzburg-based humanitarian aid organisation, Gift of the Givers. Open to all residents in the province, Kia South Africa, with its 12-strong dealer network in the province, is committing a donation of R100 to Gift of the Givers for every test drive completed over the Heritage Day weekend in September.

“The Kia brand is celebrating its 25th anniversary in South Africa this year and has had a presence in the KwaZulu-Natal province right from the beginning,” comments Gary Scott, CEO, Kia South Africa. “As we celebrate the success of the brand over this period, we want to give back to the communities we serve and, in the spirit of our brand slogan 'movement that inspires', Kia wants to partner with the residents of the province, whether they are Kia owners or not, to achieve this goal by blending a brand experience with collaborative fundraising in a fun and highly relevant, localised manner.”

Kia South Africa is a long-standing supporter of Gift of the Givers, individually and as part of Motus Holdings. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Motus Holdings donated four vehicles to further aid the life-saving work Gift of the Givers do. In March 2021, Kia also donated a Sportage 2.0 CRDi EX AWD to the organisation, used primarily by Dr Sooliman as he travelled across South Africa on various humanitarian missions in execution of the organisation’s mandate.

“As South Africans doing business with South Africans in South Africa, it is critical to us that the Kia brand is trusted and loved by all South Africans,” adds Scott. “Our desire to facilitate change while providing mobility resonates with Gift of the Givers’ position of providing assistance unconditionally and assisting the needy, irrespective of human or animal, race, religion, colour, class, political affiliation or geographic location.”

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The ‘Test Drive for Good’ campaign follows a donation of R100,000 to the organisation at the beginning of September. The donation was presented to Dr Imtiaz Sooliman during Kia South Africa’s 2023 Kia Leadership Conference, where Dr Sooliman delivered a message of hope and resilience to the 120-plus audience. Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest indigenous disaster response NGO (non-governmental organisation) on the African continent, with the essence of its presence being to bring hope and restore dignity to the most vulnerable. Its primary focus is on disaster response, hunger alleviation, water provision, healthcare, education and social upliftment.

Kia has 12 dealerships in the KwaZulu-Natal province, specifically in Newcastle, Vryheid, Empangeni, Ballito, uMhlanga, Durban Central, Springfield, Amanzimtoti, Port Shepstone, Pinetown, Hillcrest and Pietermaritzburg. All of these dealers, with the exception of Kia Durban Central, will be open throughout the Heritage Day weekend, and collectively have the ambitious target of completing at least 3,000 test drives between Friday, 22 September, and Monday, 25 September.

“We believe that our exclusive partnership with Gift of the Givers, itself a KwaZulu-Natal-based organisation, will ensure that all funds raised through the campaign are utilised to the direct benefit of the province’s residents,” adds Scott. “It’s as simple as completing a test drive of any Kia model at any KwaZulu-Natal Kia dealership, a simple act that guarantees a donation of R100 to Gift of the Givers by Kia. Let’s unite this Heritage Day weekend and collectively create a movement that changes an immeasurable number of lives for the better.”

For more information, visit www.kia.co.za/testdriveforgood.