Kia Motors Global Sales Grow 49.2% In First Half 2010

SEOUL - Aug 5, 2010: Kia Motors Corporation today announced its global sales growth of 49.2% in the first half of 2010, based on shipment volume of 990,000 units, compared to the same period last year. Export market sales, as well as domestic sales, increased significantly due to the continuous launch of new models onto the global marketplace, including Kia Cadenza, Forte (Cerato), all-new Sorento and all-new Sportage.

Global sales of Kia Motors on a retail basis totalled 1 million units during the first half of 2010, an increase of 34.1%, compared to the previous year. US market sales increased by 15.4% thanks to the successful launch of the all-new Sorento. Although the European market continues to be affected by the economic recession and the end of the government tax support in many countries, Kia has increased sales and market share with the introduction of the new Europe-only MPV, Venga, and the strong sales of its flagship models Picanto and cee’d.

China market sales increased dramatically with 76.8% growth due to the market’s booming automobile market and high sales of new Kia models. The Chinese auto market continues its bright prospected and Kia will continue to expand its line-up with localized versions of new models. In general markets*, Kia’s sales increased by 54.9% with main growth coming from the Middle East and Africa. Sales growth is expected in all general markets* undergoing economic recover, such as Latin America, Russia and Asia Pacific.

“Although intense competition is expected in the global automotive market place,” said Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation, “We aim to meet with our aggressive sales targets through the expansion of our dealer network and the launch of new, exciting models like the all-new Sportage and Optima and our eco-friendly vehicles.”

Overseas factory sales grew 120.9% (339,000 units) over last year, helped primarily by the additional sales from its recently opened US plant in Georgia and growing demand from the China market, while sales from factories in Korea increased 27.6% (for a total of 650,000 units). Sales volume from Kia Motors’ Slovakia plant increased 64.9% with the growth in demand of Kia vehicles from Europe, especially Spain, France and the United Kingdom.

Revenue in the first have of 2010 also reached KRW 10.63 trillion, marking the first time Kia hits the KRW 10 trillion mark in a fiscal half; this figure is a KRW 2.45 trillion increase over the same period of 2009. The increase in revenue is due primarily to sales increases in the domestic and export markets, however, F/X rate movements result in a decrease in revenue of KRW 1 trillion due to the depreciation of the KRW against the USD (by 14%).