Kia Motors (UK) Ltd. Appoints Michael Cole as Managing Director

WEYBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM – June 4, 2009: Kia Motors (UK) Limited has announced that Michael Cole has been appointed to the role of Managing Director. He will take up the position in early August replacing Paul Philpott who has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer at Kia Motors Europe.

Cole, 45, joins the growing Korean brand from Toyota GB, where he was UK sales Director, having gained significant experience during his 15 years with the Japanese brand.

After completing a Diploma in Accounting at Brookes University, Oxford, Michael joined the motor industry spending 10 years within the Ford Dealer network. During this time he qualified as an Accountant and became a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (FCCA).

Michael joined Toyota in 1995 and has held a number of field-based roles in Business Management and Area Sales (North-East and Yorkshire) before taking on office roles within Toyota Financial Services and Fleet Sales. He then moved to a marketing role in 2001 as Manager of Sales and Market Planning before becoming Southern Region General Manager in 2002 and General Manager, After Sales in 2003.

Cole said: “I am very excited by this opportunity – the Kia brand is poised to grow dramatically over the coming years with a strong ambition to achieve in excess of 50,000 sales in the UK. The product line-up is already expanding, but their high quality, design led new models will really offer something different. Korean ambition knows no boundaries and I’m hoping to emulate that through what we do at Kia Motors in the UK.”

“Under Paul Philpott, Kia in the UK has flourished and I will be working hard to take that to the next stage. I am looking forward to working with the team at Kia and its dealer network to achieve strong sales growth with profit over the coming years.

“Central to my determination is that in the UK, customers will recognise Kia as a desirable volume car brand which delivers high quality, good value and the service they deserve” he added.

Paul Philpott said of the appointment; “Michael has clearly demonstrated that he has the enthusiasm, the experience, the capabilities and the vision to continue the growth of Kia in the UK, and to further develop the service provided to the dealer network. Like me, he firmly believes that at the heart of any franchise has to be a strong partnership between the manufacturer and the dealer network. With Michael as my successor, I am confident that our UK operation is in very good hands and the progress made in recent years will continue to accelerate.”

Kia Motors (UK) Limited President, Mr S. Huh commented: “We are excited and delighted to have Michael join Kia as our new Managing Director. He brings a wide range of experience to the role that will help develop the Kia brand as it grows.

“Kia Motors has launched some exciting product in recent times – cee’d, pro_cee’d, SW and Soul – but we will build on this with more models in the coming years. I have no doubt that Michael is fully equipped to lead Kia to our UK ambitions.”

Michael lives in Horsham, West Sussex, with his wife and two children, enjoys golf and supports West Ham United.