SEOUL, March 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - South Korean automaker Kia told AFP Tuesday it had not approved an advertising campaign that featured one of its electric vehicles with a bumper sticker denigrating rival Tesla owner Elon Musk.

The advertisement, posted last month on the social media accounts of Kia Norway, features the company's entry level electric car, the EV3, with a bumper sticker saying: "I bought this after Elon went crazy."

The sticker appears to riff on a viral trend of Tesla owners, unhappy with the world's richest man's recent foray into politics, slapping bumper stickers on their vehicles claiming they had purchased them "before Musk went crazy".

The advert was removed on Tuesday after AFP asked the South Korean company about the image.

"Kia Corporation is aware of a social media post by Kia Norway, which has since been removed," a company spokesperson said in a statement provided to AFP.

"The post was an entirely independent local initiative that does not reflect the position of Kia Europe or Kia Corporation," it added.

Kia is an affiliate of South Korea's Hyundai, and combined they are the world's third-largest automaker by volume as of 2024, selling more than 7.2 million cars combined.

In recent years, Kia has rolled out a range of EVs, from the entry-level EV3 -- Britain's 2025 car of the year -- to the large SUV EV9.

Billionaire Musk, the boss of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of social media site X, has become a key backer of and advisor to US President Donald Trump.

Musk, the world's richest man, has recently become the target of protests against the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that he leads, including vandalisation of Tesla facilities and an apparent cyberattack on X.

While Musk enjoys Trump's confidence, polling shows he is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his cuts have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents at town halls.

Tesla has seen its sales drop across Europe in recent weeks following Musk's controversial support for far-right groups, including Germany's AfD during the country's recent election campaign.

Tesla sales in Germany -- Europe's biggest auto market -- plunged more than 76 percent year-on-year in February, official data showed. Overall sales in the European Union almost halved, on year, in January.

Investors are concerned about the potential for boycotts and buyer backlash over Musk's divisive behaviour as an adviser to the US president.

Tesla has lost more than one-third of its market value since mid-December as Musk deepens his association with the polarising US leader.