[KIA MOTORS NEWS]Kia Motors posts 26.0% global sales growth in July

NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Kia Motors posts 26.0% global sales growth in July

 

-         180,930 Kia vehicles sold globally in July for 26.0% year-on-year
growth

-         July sales in general markets, Korea, North America, Europe and
China post year-on-year sales growth of 59.6%, 29.6%, 19.2%, 16.7% and 6.0%,
respectively

 

(SEOUL) August 10, 2010 - Kia Motors Corporation announced today its global
sales figures for passenger cars (export sales, domestic sales and sales
from overseas plants), recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles
for July 2010, recording a total of 180,930 units sold.  This figure
represents a year-on-year increase of 26.0%.

 

In July, Kia posted healthy year-on-year sales increases in all sales
regions: 59.6% in general markets (38,797 units sold), 29.6% in Korea
(45,100 units sold), 19.2% in North America (41,071 units sold), 16.7% in
Europe* (32,257 units sold) and 6.0% in China (23,705 units sold).

 

Cumulatively, through the first seven months of 2010, Kia's global sales
increased by 32.8% year-on-year and reaching 1,185,654 units. China and
general markets have experienced the highest gains to date in 2010 of 62.6%
(194,682 units sold) and 57.6% (253,116 units sold), respectively. 

 

The remaining regions have all showed cumulative strong double digit
year-on-year sales increases: 25.2% in Europe* (226,921 units sold), 20.2%
in Korea (273,289 units sold), and 16.5% in North America (237,646 units
sold).  

 

Kia's best selling model in overseas markets for the month of July was the
C-segment Cerato (known as 'Forte' in some markets) with 31,704 units sold.
The B-segment Rio and Sorento mid-size CUV follow with 19,636 and 15,527
units sold, respectively.  The Sportage compact CUV comes in fourth with
14,135 units sold and the Soul urban crossover vehicle rounds out the top
five with 13,113 units sold. 

 

In terms of vehicle category sold overseas, Kia's recreational vehicles and
passenger cars achieved year-on-year increases in July of 35.6% (52,635
units) and 16.3% (77,960 units), respectively. 

 

Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation, said, "Our strong
sales results in all regions in July further underline that the Kia brand is
being embraced by new customers around the world thanks to our ongoing
commitment to providing high-quality vehicles that are hard to beat in terms
of styling, fuel economy, and high-tech and convenience features. And with
the all-new Sportage CUV and Optima sedan set to arrive in most dealer
showrooms this year, we expect that the Kia brand will continue to be on the
short-list of potential new car buyers." 

 



 



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Editor's notes: 

*Includes figures from Western and Eastern European markets

 

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

 

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Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) <http://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. Over 1.5 million vehicles a year are produced in 13 manufacturing
and assembly operations in eight countries which are then sold and serviced
through a network of distributors and dealers covering 172 countries. Kia
today has over 42,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over
US$14.6 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an
official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World
CupT. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" --
represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer
expectations through continuous automotive innovation.