Kia Motors Posts 26.5% Global Sales Growth In 2010

SYDNEY – January 12, 2011: Kia Motors Corporation has announced its global sales figures for 2010 reached an all-time high of 2,089,355 units.

The combined sales of passenger cars (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants), recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles cemented Kia’s position as one of the world’s fastest growing automakers. The record sales represent an annual year-on-year increase of 26.5% and marks the first time in the company’s history that it has eclipsed the 2 million unit sales mark.

By region, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in general markets*, including Australia, of 447,994 units or 47.1% increase, China (354,944 units and a 38.3% year-on-year increase), North America (410,150 units, a 18.5% year-on-year increase), Europe** (391,755 units, an 18.1% year-on-year increase) and Korea (484,512 units, a 17.4% year-on-year increase).

For December, double digit sales growth was achieved in North America (33,483 units sold, a 41.3% year-on-year increase), general markets (37,179 units, a 26.4% year-on-year increase) and Europe (31,187 units sold, a 11.1% year-on-year increase). China (34,194 units sold) and Korea (45,216 units sold) saw a slight decrease in December year-on-year sales, falling by 2.3% and 2.8%, respectively.

Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets in 2010 was the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Forte’ in some markets) with 403,303 units sold. Kia’s Sportage compact CUV and B-segment Rio followed with 207,922 and 205,351 units sold, respectively. The Sorento mid-size CUV came in fourth with 174,892 units sold, while the Soul urban crossover vehicle rounded out the top five with 135,407 units sold.

“All of us at Kia Motors are encouraged to have ended 2010 by setting a new all-time global sales mark of in excess of 2 million vehicles,” commented Thomas Oh, Senior Executive Vice-President & COO, Kia Motors Corporation. “Despite the fact that the global economic recovery is still unfolding at a slow pace, we look forward to maintaining our momentum in 2011 as we push forward with our ongoing aggressive new product launch cycle with the introduction of the next generation Picanto A-segment and Rio B-segment volume sellers later this year.”