Kia Motors posts 53.2% increase in November global sales

(SEOUL) December 10, 2009 - Kia Motors Corporation announced today its global sales figures for passenger cars (export sales, domestic sales, and sales from overseas plants), recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles for November 2009, recording a total of 152,826 units sold. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 53.2%.

By region, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in China (29,957 units sold, a 190.2% year-on-year increase), Korea (38,687 units sold, a 48.0% year-on-year increase), Europe (31,188 units sold, a 42.7% year-on-year increase), general markets (31,575 units, a 34.3% year-on-year increase) and North America (21,419 units, a 19.8% year-on-year increase).

Cumulatively, through the first eleven months of 2009, Kia's global sales increased by 17.0% year-on-year and reached 1,489,204 units. The Chinese market experienced the highest gain with 221,722 units sold to date, representing a 65.2% increase. Korea, general markets, and North America also showed cumulative year-on-year sales increases of 26.8% (366,229 units sold), 14.7% (275,105 units sold) and 9.5% (322,488 units sold), respectively.

To date in 2009, Kia's best selling model in overseas markets has been the C-segment Cerato (known as 'Spectra' or 'Forte' in some markets) with 269,864 units sold. Kia's B-segment Rio and Sportage compact SUV compete fiercely for second place with 159,385 and 157,312 units sold, respectively. The C-segment cee'd comes in fourth, with 114,498 units sold, and the Picanto concludes the top five with 93,826 units sold.

In terms of vehicle category sold overseas, Kia's passenger and recreational vehicles achieved year-on-year increases in November of 76.1% (74,261 units) and 31.9% (36,529 units), respectively.

Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation, said, "November has proven to be another tremendously successful month for Kia. This month we saw growth across all markets and we will seek to continue to satisfy customers with our ongoing rollout of new, stylish and fuel efficient products, including the recently launched Cadenza luxury sedan."

Editor's notes:
*Includes figures from Western and Eastern European markets
**General markets includes the regions of Central and South America, the Caribbean, Asia (excluding China), the Pacific, Middle East and Africa

Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) -- a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart -- 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. Nearly 1.5 million vehicles a year are produced in 13 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 172 countries. Kia today has over 40,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.5 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World CupT -- as well as a EUROTOP partner of UEFA. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.