Kia Motors posts 2.6% increase in January global sales

NEWS

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CONTACT: Michael Choo (mjc@kia.co.kr  ),
International Communications Manager, Kia Motors Corporation, Tel:
+82-2-3464-5663

 

Kia Motors posts 2.6% increase in January global sales

-         107,628 Kia vehicles sold globally in January

-         Passenger car sales reach 56,981, an increase of 14%

-         Sales in Europe post 8.8% year-on-year growth with sales in Korea,
China, North America and general markets posting 31.3%, 7.6%, -8.1% and
-15.8%, respectively

 

(SEOUL) February 5, 2007 -- Kia Motors Corporation announced today that its
global sales (exports, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) of
passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and light trucks in January 2007
recorded 107,628, representing a 2.6% year-on-year increase. 

 

By region, Europe and China posted a year-on-year sales rise of 8.8% and
7.6% in January with 26,242 and 12,304 units sold, respectively. Meanwhile,
sales of Kia vehicles in North America, Korea and the general markets
recorded 28,772 units (8.1% year-on-year decrease), 23,010 (31.3%
year-on-year increase) and 12,304 units (15.8% year-on-year decrease),
respectively. 

 

So far in 2007, Kia's best selling model in export markets has been the
C-segment Cerato (known as 'Spectra' in some markets) with 17,130 units
sold, followed by the B-segment Rio with 15,990.  Meanwhile, Kia's Sportage
compact SUV continues to perform well selling 11,773 units. The A-segment
Picanto and the D-segment Optima (known as 'Magentis in some markets) also
recording strong results with 11,169 and 9,251 sold, respectively. 

 

By vehicle category, Kia's passenger cars sold 56,981 units overseas, an
increase of 14.1% year-on-year.  Sales of its RVs and of its light trucks
reached 24,052 units, a 29.3% decrease, and 3,585 units, a 4.4% increase,
respectively. 

 

Yong-Kwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Kia Motors
Corporation, said, "This is a solid start to the new year with good signs
emerging from our European and Chinese markets.  Our passenger cars are also
performing well and we expect to see more growth, particularly in Europe, as
our first ever car designed for and built in Europe - the cee'd 5-door
family car - has just been launched in Europe."

 



 



 

Editor's notes: 

 

1 and *) Global sales figures disclosed are based upon exports (including
overseas KD production with more or more 60% Kia-supplied components),
domestic sales and sales from overseas production plants.

 

2) "General markets" includes the regions of Central and South America, Asia
and the Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.

 

**) Includes Western and Eastern Europe, and sales figures from Slovakia
plant.

 

Kia Motors Corporation (
<http://autoway.kia.co.kr/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.kiamotors.com
/> www.kiamotors.com or www.kia.com <http://www.kia.com/> ) -- one of the
fastest growing automakers 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 14 manufacturing and assembly operations in 9 countries
produce more than 1.3 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced
through a network of distributors and dealers covering 160 countries. Kia
today has over 32,500 employees and annual revenues of almost $16 billion.
It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official
worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. From 2007 to 2014, Kia will be an
official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World
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.

 

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