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

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2009-04-16 15:01

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Seoul--(뉴스와이어)--Kia Motors Corporation announced today that it has continued to gain market share in general markets, China, Korea and North America posting March sales growth of 19.9%, 10.4%, 6.1% and 0.9%, respectively.

By region, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in general markets (22,546 units sold, a 19.9% year-on-year increase), China (14,540 units, a 10.4% year-on-year increase), Korea (30,043 units sold, a 6.1% year-on-year increase), and North America (28,279 units sold, a 0.9% year-on-year increase).

Sales in the Middle East & Africa remained particularly strong in March with 14,192 units sold, representing a 70% year-on-year increase.

Cumulatively through the first three months of 2009, Kia’s global sales increased in general markets, Korea and North America. General markets experienced the largest gain, selling 62,957 units to date representing a 20.1% increase, while the Korean and North American markets showed cumulative year-on-year sales increases of 6.7% (79,406 units sold) and 1.5% (79,494 units sold).

So far in 2009, Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets has been the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Spectra’ in some markets) and its replacement model Forte (known as ‘all-new Cerato’ in some markets ) with 48,760 units sold. The Sportage compact SUV and the B-segment Rio compete closely for second place with 31,590 and 31,586 units sold, respectively. The C-segment cee’d and A-segment Picanto complete the top five with 26,602 and 20,555 units sold, respectively.

In terms of vehicle category sold overseas, Kia’s recreational vehicles achieved an increase of 8.5% year-on-year, selling 35,569 units in March.

Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of the International Business Division, Kia Motors Corporation, said, “Although the first quarter of the year has presented challenges for the automotive industry, Kia continued to see strong growth throughout multiple markets. We will continue to prudently monitor our activity, but remain confident that we are well positioned with our new Soul urban crossover and next-generation Cerato (known as ‘Forte’ in some markets) now on sale in many markets.”

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) -- 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