During November, Kia sales reached a total of 24,571 units, 19% higher than the brand achieved that month in 2004. Kia´s top selling models for the month were Picanto (7,572 units delivered), heading the Sorento (3,425 sales), Sportage (3,352) and the New Rio, powering up to fourth place with 3,201 sales now the remarkable 1.5 diesel engine is available to boost this model´s appeal even further.
Kia´s biggest seller continues to be the Picanto small car, now runner-up in the A-segment sales charts for the whole of Europe, with 78,942 sold so far this year – an increase of 68% over 2004. In Kia´s sales league, the Picanto is followed by the award-winning Sorento SUV (38,258 sales) and the compact 4×4 Sportage (36,510).
“Kia´s monthly sales performance in Europe – above 24,500 units in November for the first time – once again demonstrates how our products now meet the needs of European consumers. It is hugely encouraging for everyone in our expanding dealer network to see more and more new customers are switching to the Kia brand,” commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe.
“As 2005 has unfolded Kia has broadened its product range and introduced diesel engines in most model line-ups. Our spread of vehicles, from the popular A-segment Picanto to the award-winning Sorento SUV and spacious Carnival MPV gives our brand immense appeal which will be further boosted by 6 new model launches during 2006,” concludes Lievens.
Kia Motor´s export sales climb by 23.9% this year
Kia Motors Corporation has announced that during the first 11 months of 2005, its export retail sales rose by 23.9% to a total of 749,225 units. Sales in Europe accounted for 38.9% of these exports, with 37.9% going to the USA and 23.3% to all other export markets outside Korea.
“The tremendous growth in overseas sales we have experienced so far this year is a testament to the rapidly rising stature of the Kia brand across all global markets,” commented Mr Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice-President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation. “With a total of 13 all-new models and facelifts to be introduced between 2005 and 2010, we expect our recent successes to continue well into the future.”
Kia´s robust sales performance overseas can be attributed to strong demand for the C-segment Kia Cerato (Spectra in some markets) – the Kia brand´s biggest seller this year globally, with 108,200 sales so far – ahead of the Sorento SUV (108,000 units), Picanto (107,000) and Sportage compact SUV (82,000).