Kia Motors Makes Top Ten After Focussed May

SYDNEY – June 3, 2011: Kia Motors Australia has again bucked the trend of a contracting new car market to grab a place in the top ten sale list for May, according to VFACTS figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries today.

Sales of 2353 new vehicles during May saw the Kia slip ahead of Honda and Suzuki to finish in 10th place, just 101 units behind Subaru. It is the first time for more than two years Kia has taken a monthly top ten spot.

The monthly sales figure also represented a record for Kia of 3.04% of the total market share.

“Our May result is extremely pleasing,” said Kia Motors Australia COO Tony Barlow.

“There is no doubt that, largely because of outside influences, it has been a very difficult month for some manufacturers, but Kia’s continued growth is due to the realisation and adherence to our long-term business plan,” Mr Barlow said.

“Making the result even more satisfying is knowing that the nine manufacturers ahead of us this month all feature an extensive list of commercial vehicles in their lineup.”

Leading the charge with a new vehicle sales increase of 181% when compared to May 2010, was the Kia Cerato, which was also up 72.1% so far this year. The Cerato range of Sedan, Hatch and Koup is winning recognition as one of the best value cars in the market.

Passenger sales for Kia increased 15% for the month when compared to the same month last year.

In the competitive SUV segment, the Kia Sportage managed an increase in new vehicles sales of 61.2% over the same month last year, with year to date sales of 1353 units representing an increase of 19.7% year-on-year.

Kia’s sales across the range were up a healthy 15.7% over May 2010 and maintained a strong 5.1% growth year-to-date.