Kia Motors America announces organizational change
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Kia Motors America’s (KMA) chief operating officer and executive vice president, Bill Peffer, resigned yesterday in conjunction with his pursuit of a new opportunity in the automotive industry. Kia Motors America has not yet appointed a successor.
Peffer joined KMA in July 2017 as vice president of sales operations. His three-plus years at KMA culminated in the company’s best-ever retail sales performance last year, helping make Kia the fastest-growing mass market brand in the U.S.
“Bill Peffer’s contributions helped Kia’s U.S. sales outperform the industry and we are grateful for his service to the company. We sincerely wish him well in the next chapter of his career,” said Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia Motors North America and Kia Motors America.
UPDATE: January 14, 2021; Peffer at Masserti, replaced Al Gardner as the head of Maserati’s North American operations. Gardner left Maserati in August and later joined Atlantic Coast Automotive Group as vice president, according to his LinkedIn profile. Rosberto McGinnis, Maserati’s global head of after sales, held the interim CEO role before Peffer’s hiring, a Maserati spokesperson said.
Peffer had been promoted from vice president of sales operations at Kia in mid-December after a strong sales year. He formally started the COO job Jan. 1 and resigned Jan. 7. The operations position is the No. 2 spot in Kia’s U.S. hierarchy behind Sean Yoon, president of Kia Motors America and Kia Motors North America.
joined Kia in July 2017 as vice president of sales. Kia notched its best U.S. sales in 2019 and was the fastest-growing mass-market brand in the U.S. at the time, Kia said. Last year, Kia sales fell 4.8 percent, besting the U.S. industry’s performance in general, which experienced a 14 percent decline.
Before his arrival at Kia, Peffer was president of the New England dealership group Balise Motor Sales, of West Springfield, Mass.
