Kia Motors Posts 20.1% Increase in 2009 Global Sales

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – January 21, 2010: Kia Motors Corporation has announced that its global sales figures for passenger cars (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants), recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles for 2009 reached an all-time high of 1,651,920 units sold, cementing Kia's position as one of the world's fasting growing automakers. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 20.1%.

By region, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in China (256,732 units sold, a 69.9% year-on-year increase), Korea (412,752 units sold, a 30.4% year-on-year increase), general markets (304,522 units, a 16.2% year-on-year increase), North America (346,181 units, a 11.3% year-on-year increase) and Western Europe (242,288 units, a 7.7% year-on-year increase).

For the month of December 2009, significant double digit sales growth was achieved in China (35,010 units sold, a 107.0% year-on-year increase), Korea (46,523 units sold, a 69.1% year-on-year increase), North America (23,693 units sold, a 45.5% year-on-year increase), Europe* (28,073 units sold, a 40.6% year-on-year increase) and general markets (29,417 units sold, a 31.4% year-on-year increase).

Kia's best selling model in overseas markets in 2009 was the C-segment Cerato (known as 'Spectra' or 'Forte' in some markets) with 304,295 units sold. Kia's B-segment Rio and Sportage compact SUV competed for second position with 177,299 and 172,296 units sold, respectively. The C-segment cee'd came fourth with 124,389 units sold, and the Picanto rounded out the top five with 100,355 units.

In terms of vehicle categories sold overseas, Kia's passenger and recreational vehicles achieved year-on-year increases in 2009 of 16.6% (776,352 units) and 19.7% (428,512 units), respectively.

"2009 was another stellar year for Kia Motors as we turned the global economic downturn into an opportunity to raise market share in all regions, while winning the hearts of many new customers with our exciting new line-up of stylish, fuel efficient vehicles that offer unsurpassed value for money," said Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation.

"We are excited about continuing this momentum in 2010 with the ongoing introduction of next generation Kia vehicles while continuing to raise the profile of the Kia brand through exciting marketing activities like the sponsorship of this year's FIFA World Cup South AfricaTM," he noted.