Kia Motors posts growth in general markets, Korea, China and North America in February

뉴스 제공

2009-03-11 15:44

가

가 가 가 가

Seoul--(뉴스와이어)--Kia Motors Corporation announced today that it has continued to gain market share in general markets, Korea, China and North America posting sales growth of 24.9%, 13.5%, 3.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

By region, Kia posted large year-on-year sales increases in general markets (21,336 units sold, a 24.9% year-on-year increase) and Korea (27,307 units sold, a 13.5% year-on-year increase). Meanwhile, sales of Kia vehicles continued to grow in China and North America at 11,126 units (a 3.3% year-on-year increase) and 24,294 units (a 0.5% year-on-year increase), respectively.

Sales in the Middle East & Africa were particularly strong in February with 13,922 units sold, representing an 83.9% year-on-year increase.

Cumulatively through the first two months of 2009, Kia’s global sales increased in general markets, Korea and North America. General markets experienced the largest gain, selling 40,411 units to date representing a 20.2% increase, while the Korean and North American markets have shown cumulative year-on-year sales growth of 7.1% (49,363 units sold) and 1.8% (48,215 units sold), respectively.

So far in 2009, Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets has been the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Spectra’ in some markets) with 29,128 units sold. It is followed by a group of two vehicles: the B-segment Rio with 20,034 units sold and Sportage compact SUV with 20,024 units sold. The C-segment cee’d and A-segment Picanto round out the top five selling models with 13,898 and 11,839 units sold, respectively.

In terms of vehicle category sold overseas, Kia’s recreational vehicles achieved an increase of 8.5% year-on-year, selling 29,752 units in February.

Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of the International Business Division, Kia Motors Corporation, said, “Despite the current economic crisis, and its impact on the automotive industry, we saw strong growth in February, particularly in the general markets. We are encouraged by these figures and are confident that we are well positioned with our new Soul urban crossover and next-generation Cerato (known as ‘Forte’ in some markets) becoming fully available later this year.”

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. Nearly 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 40,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.5 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and 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