Kia May 2004: New Monthly Sales Record

Sedona, Rio and Amanti Sales Highlight The Best Month In Company History

IRVINE, Calif., June 2 -- Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced its best sales month ever with 25,443 units sold during May, a 15.6 percent increase versus the same period last year. Kia's year-to-date sales of 108,265 -- up 9.1 percent over 2003 -- put the Korean automaker in position to achieve its 11th consecutive annual sales record by the end of the year.

Kia's record-setting month featured strong sales performances from all of its products, including a Sedona sales increase of 23.6 percent over May 2003. The minivan's year-to-date sales of 26,384 units represent a 28.0 percent increase over 2003. Rio sales were up 58.7 percent over May 2003, while the Amanti large premium sedan eclipsed 2,000 unit sales in one month for the first time in its brief history.

"Kia's newer products such as the Sorento, Sedona, Optima and Amanti have been strong performers throughout the year, and particularly strong volume from Rio in May helped us set a new monthly sales record that we are very proud of," said Peter M. Butterfield, Kia's president and chief executive officer. "We're pleased with the efforts of our retail partners to not only increase volume, but to enhance customer sales and service satisfaction. And in another first for Kia, two of our retailers sold more than 500 vehicles in May, a number that had previously never been achieved."

Kia Motors America is the U.S. sales, marketing and service arm of Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea.

                               MONTH OF MAY              YEAR-TO-DATE

   Model                    2004         2003         2004         2003
   Optima                  3,052        3,635       20,138       11,821
   Rio                     5,056        3,184       17,756       15,342
   Sedona                  6,578        5,322       26,384       20,607
   Spectra/Sephia          4,568        5,514       16,407       30,104
   Sportage                    5          181           49        5,248
   Sorento                 3,829        4,171       19,889       16,073
   Amanti                  2,355          N/A        7,642          N/A

   Total                  25,443       22,007      108,265       99,195