-
811,676 Kia vehicles sold overseas from January through December
-
62,476 vehicles sold overseas in December
-
Sales in Europe, general market, and North America post 45.7 %, 28.6 % and 2.5 % year-on-year growth, respectively, in 2005
Kia Motors Corporation announced today that its overseas retail sales of passenger cars and light trucks in 2005 recorded 811,676 units, representing a 22.6 % year-on-year increase. From January through December of last year, Kia exported 840,056 vehicles, which is a 10.5% rise over the same period of last year.
Sales in December 2005 totaled 62,476 units with Europe leading the way as Kia’s largest market (27,739 vehicles sold). Exports, meanwhile, accounted for a total of 84,864 vehicles in December with performance very strong in the RV segment.
For the year, 319,611 Kia vehicles were sold in Europe (45.7 % year-on-year increase), 303,880 vehicles were sold in North America (2.5% year-on-year increase), and 188,185 cars were sold in the general market (28.6 % year-on-year increase).
Throughout 2005, 417,920 passenger cars were sold in overseas markets, with the A-segment Picanto leading the pack (117,939 units sold). Meanwhile, 329,990 recreational vehicles were sold overseas, with the award-winning Sorento SUV accounting for 117,827 of the total.
According to Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation, “ The growing demand for Kia products in overseas markets is a testament to the undivided attention we have placed on boosting product quality, reflecting European styling trends in the designs of our vehicles, and carrying out our global brand management initiative.”
“Building on our tremendous recent momentum, 2006 promises to be an even more exciting year for Kia Motors . We fully expect that our global sales will continue to outpace the industry average thanks to the continued roll-out of our new generation of Kia vehicles as well as stepped-up investments and branding activities taking place in strategic regions of the world ,” he added.
Editor’s notes:
1) Figures do not include KD (knock down) exports that are assembled at overseas plants.
2) “General market” includes the regions of Central & South America, Asia & Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com) – one of the fastest growing automakers in the world -- 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. Kia’s 16 manufacturing and assembly operations in 12 countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 155 countries. Kia today has over 32,000 employees and annual revenues of $14 billion . It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan -- “The Power to Surprise” -- represents the company’s global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.
