Just days after Kia Motors Corporation hosted the official ‘Grand Opening Ceremony’ for its Zilina facility in Slovakia comes confirmation that Kia car sales in its new European ‘home country’ have climbed a remarkable 117% so far this year.
In March, Kia sales broke through the 5% market share barrier for the first time as a total of 337 cars were delivered. This increased sales volume and market share moved Kia up to eighth place in the monthly sales league tables – ahead of Opel, Toyota, Fiat, Seat, Nissan, Honda and Mazda.
During the first quarter of 2007, Kia’s cumulative sales in Slovakia more than doubled and totalled 647 cars – up 117% on 2006 – to claim a 3.6% market share and 10th place overall in the national sales table.
Growing enthusiasm for the Kia brand among Slovakia’s car buyers is a reflection of the dedication, skill and enthusiasm being demonstrated by the workers at Kia’s plant in Zilina.
Since the first cee’d five-door hatchback cars for European customers rolled off the Zilina assembly line last December, manufacturing at Kia’s all-new facility in Slovakia has been setting a series of production records, with more than 42,000 cars made so far this year. Currently, Kia’s order book for the cee’d hatchback stands at 60,000 units.
“While maintaining the highest vehicle quality, our Zilina workers have already achieved record-breaking productivity after just five months of operation,” commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. “Thanks to Zilina, the introduction of Kia cee’d is bringing about a qualitative revolution for the Kia brand that will change how we are perceived by consumers across Europe. The giant leap in our sales in Slovakia is a clear indication that this process of changing perceptions is already underway.”
