Kia European sales set October record

Sales of Kia vehicles in Europe climbed again during October, achieving a new record for the month with sales going up by 11% to a total of 23,252 units.

Kia’s top sellers were the Picanto small car with 6,489 sales, leading the award-winning Sorento 4x4 SUV with 3,626 sales and the Sportage compact 4x4 with 3,476 sales. Germany was the biggest market for Kia with more than 3,800 vehicles delivered, 40% more than the same month a year ago.

Over the first 10 months of 2006, Kia dealers delivered a total of 228,367 units in Europe, the same volume as in the whole of 2005 – a figure that is in line with Kia’s 2006 business plans.

Biggest sellers were Picanto 70,074 units; Sorento 35,873 and Sportage 30,643 and so far this year, Spain is proving to be Kia’s largest European market overall, with almost 39,000 units delivered.

These figures are particularly impressive considering that this year has been largely one of consolidation for Kia, with the company introducing a host of new models; including the upgraded Sorento; all-new Sedona MPV and all-new Carens compact MPV - however, despite this, the existing models continued to sell well.

And, as Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe states “these figures show that there is a strong and clear endorsement of the Kia brand amongst European consumers. Also, highlights the great steps we have taken in relation to the residual values of our cars.

“We have launched a number of new models during 2006 and these models are now reaching our showrooms in good numbers, as the October sales results confirms. The Kia brand is entering a new and exciting phase in its development, particularly with the hugely significant introduction of the all-new Kia cee’d C-segment model that comes on sale from December - we are all preparing for a great year in 2007,” he added.

Around the globe, Kia overseas sales climb 4.8%

Kia Motors Corporation overseas retail sales of passenger cars and light trucks in October 2006 reached 66,542 units, representing a 4.8% year-on-year increase, with 23,210 units delivered to customers in North America and 15,180 units sold across the General Market*. Cumulatively through the first 10 months of 2006, Kia’s overseas sales have risen by 2.4% year-on-year to reach a grand total of 699,238 units.

The steady growth of Kia sales in the European region so far in 2006, has been supported by strong demand for our vehicles in the Eastern Europe and which has seen sales of Kia cars increase by 42% year-on-year through October,” Globally, Kia’s best selling export model has been the Cerato (also known as ‘Spectra’ in some markets) with 109,484 units sold, mostly in the USA and Canada. Meanwhile, the A-segment Picanto placed second with 106,856 sales, followed very closely by the award-winning Sorento mid-size SUV which attracted 106,576 buyers.