Kia Motors fastest growing car maker in Western Europe for three years running

- Kia posts 39% growth in Western Europe new vehicle registrations

- Third consecutive year as Western Europe's fastest growing car brand

(SEOUL) January 17, 2006 -- Kia Motors Corporation continues its record
breaking growth in the Western European market. According to the ACEA'S
(European Automobile Manufacturers Association) 2005 New Passenger Car
Registrations, Kia achieved 39% year-on-year sales growth with 230,743
units sold in 15 EU member countries plus 3 EFTA countries in 2005, thereby
cementing its position as the fastest growing automaker in the Western
European market for three years in a row.  

Kia was the region's fastest growing automaker in both 2003 and 2004, with
impressive year-on-year sales growth of 48.4% and 54.9%, respectively.
Kia's market share has also increased from 0.8% in 2003 to 1.1% in 2004
and 1.6% in 2005. 

Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Kia Motors Europe
said, "Riding the momentum of robust sales growth of the Picanto in 2004,
Kia enjoyed brisk sales performance of all-new B-segment Rio and Sportage
compact SUV in 2005." 

"Furthermore, our brand image has made tremendous strides in Europe thanks
to continued aggressive sports marketing focused on the Australian Open and
Davis Cup tennis tournaments and the FIFA World Cup." He also noted that
Kia Motors fully expects to maintain its recent growth momentum based on
forthcoming new models launches in 2006 such as the all-new D-segment
Magentis (Optima), Canival short-body (Sedona), Carens compact MPV and the
first Kia vehicle specifically designed for the European market, which will
be produced at Kia's Slovakia plant scheduled for opening at the end of
this year. 

 
Kia Motors Corporation (
<http://autoway.kia.co.kr/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.kiamotors.com
/> www.kiamotors.com) -- one of the fastest growing automakers in the world
-- was founded in 1944 and is Korea¡¯s oldest manufacturer of motor
vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become
one of the world¡¯s premier automotive brands. Kia¡¯s 12 manufacturing and
assembly operations in 7 countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a
year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and
dealers covering 160 countries. Kia today has over 32,500 employees and
annual revenues of over $15 billion. It is the major sponsor of the
Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup.
Kia Motors Corporation¡¯s brand slogan -- ¡°The Power to Surprise¡± --
represents the company¡¯s global commitment to surpassing customer
expectations through continuous automotive innovation.

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