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Kia Motors America Announces May 2005 Sales

Sedona and Spectra Nameplates Are Strong Sellers; Year-to-Date Sales Up 6.8%

IRVINE, Calif., June 1 -- Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced monthly sales of 25,503 units for May 2005, a slight increase over the same month in 2004. Kia's year-to-date sales of 115,991 units represent a 6.8-percent improvement over the record sales pace in 2004.

The Sedona minivan enjoyed its second-best sales month ever with 7,624 units sold, a 15.9-percent increase over May 2004, while sales of the Spectra compact sedan and Spectra5 five-door exceeded 5,000 units for the third consecutive month.

"Coupled with the successful launch of the all-new Sportage compact SUV, the continued strong performance of Sedona and Spectra have provided Kia with tremendous momentum as we head towards the mid-point of 2005," said Peter M. Butterfield, Kia Motors America's president and chief executive officer. "Our next generation products continue to be popular with consumers, and with the arrival of the all-new subcompact Rio sedan and Rio5 five-door in late summer we are confident we will see another annual sales record in 2005."

Kia Motors America is the sales, marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea. For more information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.

                              MONTH OF MAY               YEAR-TO-DATE
  Model                     2005         2004        2005         2004
  Rio                      3,309        5,056       13,557       17,756
  Spectra                  5,121        4,568       21,888       16,407
  Sportage                 2,454            5       10,139           49
  Optima                   2,743        3,052       18,818       20,138
  Sedona                   7,624        6,578       24,715       26,384
  Sorento                  3,157        3,829       16,908       19,889
  Amanti                   1,095        2,355        9,966        7,642

  Total                   25,503       25,443      115,991      108,265