Kia Motors Overseas Sales Rise 36%in April

 

-                Global exports grow by 19.4% year-on-year 

-                C-segment Cerato (Spectra) best selling model overseas in
April 

 

(SEOUL) May 3, 2005 -- Kia Motors Corporation today announced that its
overseas retail sales of passenger cars and light trucks in April 2005
recorded 69,908 units, representing a 36% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile,
exports during this period recorded 79,373 units, for a 19.4% rise over the
same period of last year. 

By region, 29,785 units were sold in North America, 24,544 units were sold
in Europe, and 15,579 units were sold in the general market. In terms of
exports, 29,745 units were shipped to North America, 30,279 units were
shipped to Europe and 19,349 units were shipped to the general market in
April. 

This strong April performance in overseas markets can be attributed to
rising sales of the all-new Sportage compact SUV and the C-segment Cerato
(also known as the 'Spectra' in some markets), which was the leading seller
in foreign markets in the month of April. Also, the soon-to-be-launched
all-new B-segment Rio is expected to further accelerate this positive sales
momentum.

 

For the first four months of 2005, Kia has seen its overseas retails sales
and exports leap by 34.1% and 32.5%, respectively. Over this period, Kia
sold a total of 252,878 vehicles while exporting 300,404 units. 

"Kia's stellar overseas sales performance in 2005 has also been bolstered by
a surge in the demand for our RV models. So far through the first four
months of the year, exports of RVs including the popular Carnival (Sedona)
MPV, Sorento SUV and Sportage compact SUV have jumped by 49.2 percent over
the same period of 2004." said Mr. Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice
President and COO of Kia Motors. 

"It is becoming increasingly evident that the Kia brand is rapidly gaining
recognition as not just a maker of small compact passenger vehicles, but
rather as a trusted manufacturer of a complete vehicle line-up -- from the
entry-level sub-compact vehicle to highly competitive recreational
vehicles." he added. 

Editor's note: Figures do not include KD (knock down) exports, which are
assembled at overseas plants.

 

Kia Motors Corporation (
<http://autoway.kia.co.kr/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.kiamotors.com
/> www.kiamotors.com) -- the fastest growing automaker 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 16 manufacturing and assembly
operations in 12 countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year
that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers
covering 155 countries. Kia today has over 32,000 employees and annual
revenues of $14 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.