Kia Strong Sales Continue; April Sales Up 27 Percent

IRVINE, Calif., May 1 -- Record-breaking sales performances continue at Kia. In April, the company sold 20,366 vehicles, outpacing last April's total by 27 percent. Kia's year-to-date sales of 75,927 vehicles are up 26 percent versus the first quarter of last year.

"April was a great month, but we could have done even better if there weren't so many people in line for 'Star Wars'," said Peter M. Butterfield, Kia's chief operating officer. "Our strong sales continue to confirm that Kia's combination of styling, features and value are a powerful draw to consumers. And it was no mean feat to achieve these numbers during the same month that the IRS held everyone's attention."

The top-selling Kia model in April was the Spectra compact sedan with sales of 8,284 units. Among other models, both the Rio subcompact and Optima midsize sedans continued their sales surge. Rio sales totaled 2,520 for the month and Optima sales totaled 4,155.

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

                                 MONTH OF APRIL         YEAR-TO-DATE
    Model                         2002      2001        2002      2001

    Optima                       4,155     1,795      11,635     6,833
    Rio                          2,520     4,728      14,020    16,962
    Sedona                       2,622       n/a      10,878       n/a
    Spectra                      8,284     6,032      25,801    23,563
    Sportage                     2,785     3,505      13,593    13,039

    Total                       20,366    16,060      75,927    60,397