John Bache, communications manager, Kia Motors UK

Digital is at the forefront of everything Kia is doing with its marketing globally and in the UK.

Bache said its brand strategy is informed by changes in consumer behaviour.

In March 2012, Kia took the decision to link with independent online customer review company Reevoo to host customer opinions on products and dealers.

He said: “Customers are looking for reviews online and want that feedback before parting with their cash.

"There is no cherry picking or screening with the comments.”

There are now more than 4,000 reviews from customers and the average score is 8.9 out of 10.

Bache said: “There was a bit of scepticism initially when we first introduced the idea, but the dealer review results are showing that the majority of customers are happy.”

Kia shows the overall rating for the dealer network and then customers can search by their postcode to view reviews for the three dealers closest to their location.

He said: “We’ve also invested heavily in video – YouTube channel – with product walk around videos, which can be embedded into our dealers’ websites.”