Summit Place Kia Blog

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

Just a bit late

Here at Summit Place Kia in metro Detroit we have been trying to keep up with all the Kia news in April. But we’re afraid we neglected to report the good news about Kia’s worldwide sales: the company reported 125,738 Kia vehicles sold globally in March with sales in the general markets of China, Korea and North America posting year-on-year sales growth of 19.9%, 10.4%, 6.1% and 0.9%, respectively. Strong sales also remain in the Middle East & Africa, representing a 70% year-on-year increase from 2008.

Kia Rio

Here is the press release:

(SEOUL) – Kia Motors Corporation announced 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.

Kia Spectra

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 Spectra and its replacement model Forte 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.

Kia Soul

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 Forte 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

See for yourself why Kia sales are increasing

There is a reason that Kia is enjoying record worldwide sales. To see for yourself, we invite you to come in and test drive the all-new Kia Soul. To do that, or for more information on the rest of the entire line-up of high quality, affordable Kias, you can contact us at our Waterford store by calling 248-682-6002 to set up an appointment or by dialing 734-397-9900 for an appointment at our Canton store. You can also check us out on the web at www.summitplacekia.com. Better yet, you can visit one of our two dealerships located at 2200 Elizabeth Lake Road in Waterford, just behind the Summit Place mall or in Canton at 41840 Michigan Avenue, just west of I-275, to test drive one of our great Kia cars and see why everyone at Metro Detroit’s sales leader would “Love to see ‘ya” in a Summit Place Kia!

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