Kia Motors posts 13.3% increase in January global sales

(SEOUL) February 5, 2008 -- Kia Motors Corporation announced today that its global sales (export retail sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) of passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and light trucks in January 2008 recorded 103,385, representing a 13.3% year-on-year increase.

By region, Europe, China and general markets posted year-on-year sales increases of 26.8%, 36.3% and 35.7% in January with 26,494, 15,554 and 16,155 units sold, respectively. Meanwhile, sales of Kia vehicles in North America and Korea markets were 23,145 units (3.7% year-on-year decrease) and 22,037 units (4.2% year-on-year decrease), respectively.

Kia's best selling model in overseas markets in January was the C-segment Cerato (known as 'Spectra' in some markets) with 17,442 units sold, followed by the Sportage compact SUV with 11,667. Meanwhile, the B-segment Rio and C-segment cee'd -- Kia's first car designed and built by and for Europeans - also were strong sellers with 10,673 and 10,457 units sold, respectively. By vehicle category sold, Kia's passenger cars sold 51,851 units in January, an increase of 37.6% year-on-year.

Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation, said, "This is a positive start to 2008 as demand for passenger cars was strong and we also experienced stronger than expected performances in a number of regions.

"What is important, however, is how these sales figures reflect long-term factors such as potential increasing demand for our vehicles as we continue to boost the quality and designs of our product line-up. We will continue to monitor and analyze our performance, and remain bullish that we will reach our aggressive internal sales targets."

Editor's notes:

* Overseas sales figures are based upon retail sales of CBUs (completely built units) from Korean production plants and sales from overseas plants

** Includes figures from Western and Eastern European markets

***General markets includes the regions of Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific (excluding China), and the Middle East and Africa

Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com -- a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at- heart -- 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. More than 1.4 million vehicles a year are produced in 14 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 165 countries. Kia today has over 33,000 employees and annual revenues of almost US$17 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. Kia is an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup -- as well as a EUROTOP partner of UEFA. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.