Kia Motors posts 9.2% increase in August global sales

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2008-09-09 10:59

Seoul--(뉴스와이어)--Kia Motors Corporation announced today that its global sales (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) of passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles in August 2008 recorded 112,564, representing a 9.2% year-on-year increase.

By region, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in general markets (25,520 units sold, a 50.9% year-on-year increase), China (10,627 units, a 34.7% year-on-year increase), and Korea (23,305 units sold, a 1.3% year-on-year increase). Meanwhile, in Europe and North America, 24,172 (1.9% year-on-year decrease) and 28,940 (5.6% year-on-year decrease) Kia vehicles were sold in August, respectively.

Cumulatively, through the first eight months of 2008, Kia’s global sales increased by 16.0% year-on-year and reached 951,948 units. China (101,490 units sold) and general markets (167,922 units sold) have experienced the largest gains of 41.8%, and 35.7%, respectively. Cumulative year-on-year sales increases have also been experienced in all other sales regions: Korea (16.0% gain from 204,849 units sold); Europe (10.8% gain from 240,504 units sold); and North America (2.3% gain from 237,183 units sold).

So far in 2008, Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets has been the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Spectra’ in some markets) with 140,836 units sold. It is followed by a close group of three vehicles: the B-segment Rio at 108,414 units, the C-segment cee’d at 103,350 units and Kia’s Sportage compact SUV at 99,608 units. Meanwhile the A-segment Picanto continues to perform well with 68,014 units sold.

Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of the International Business Division, said, “Although August is traditionally a slower month for sales, we continue to experience strong growth in China and general markets. Despite the challenges facing the industry, this month’s results are encouraging.”

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Editor’s notes:

* Global sales figures are based upon CBU export sales and sales from overseas and Korean production plants
** Includes figures from Western and Eastern European markets
***General markets includes the regions of Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa

Kia Motors Corporation (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. More than 1.4 million vehicles a year are produced in 14 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 165 countries. Kia today has over 40,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of almost US$17 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. Kia is an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup -- as well as a EUROTOP partner of UEFA. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.

웹사이트: http://www.kiamotors.com