Kia Posts 17.4% Global Sales Growth in June

Kia Motors Corporation announced today its global sales figures (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) for passenger cars, recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles for June 2011, recording a total of 216,106 units sold. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 17.4%.

In June, Kia posted strong double-digit year-on-year sales increases in all of its overseas regions – 38.0% in North America (52,121 units sold), 26.6% in China (33,749 units sold), 24.8% in Europe (44,422 units sold), and 10.0% in general markets* (43,614 units sold), while sales in the home market of Korea declined by 5.0% (42,200 units sold).

Cumulatively, through the first six months of 2011, Kia’s global sales have increased by 19.8% year-on-year to reach 1,204,117 units. North America has experienced the highest gain to date in 2011 of 41.5% (278,199 units sold) while the remaining regions have all shown strong cumulative year-on-year sales increases: 19.0% in China (203,440 units sold), 17.2% in Europe (228,130 units sold), 14.8% in general markets (246,003 units sold) and 8.8% in Korea (248,345 units sold).

Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets for the month of June was the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Forte’ in some markets) with 38,119 units sold. The Sportage compact CUV was the second best seller with 30,226 units delivered, while the B-segment Rio, Soul urban crossover vehicle and Sorento mid-size CUV followed with 19,520, 18,054 and 17,886 units sold, respectively.

Senior Executive Vice President & COO of Kia Motors Corporation, Thomas Oh, said, “Our June results are quite encouraging as we surpassed the one million unit global sales mark, putting us well on track to exceed our annual target of 2,345,000 vehicles set at the start of 2011. In the second half of the year, we look forward to the all-new Picanto A-segment and all-new Rio B-segment vehicles arriving in showrooms around the world, in addition to the start of production of the all-new Optima for North American consumers at Kia’s U.S. plant in the state of Georgia.”

[Source: Kia]

Read More

Argentina Agrees to Import Hyundai and Kia for Peanuts

Argentina’s exports for imports saga continues, with South Korean carmaker Hyundai agreeing to export peanuts, wine, biodiesel and soy flour to offset the US$91 million (€64 million) it added to Argentina’s growing trade deficit in 2010. Partner company / subsidiary Kia has agreed export white goods and plastics for their contribution.

The South American nation’s US$6 billion (€4.19 billion) trade deficit has already led to one Porsche distributor agreeing to export wine and olive products, while similar deals have been struck with carmakers Chery, GM, Peugeot-Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Fiat and Ford.

Soaring consumer demand for foreign goods, which is up some 38% year-to-date for the January to April period, has resulted in these highly protectionist policies with the Argentine government flat out refusing imports from parties that don’t agree. An undisclosed source in the motor industry told the Financial Times:

“In December, they told us and all the other car importers to reduce imports by 20 per cent compared with 2010. [When they want to enforce things] they simply give a call to customs and say, from now on, don’t let any vehicles come in.”

Hyundai is expected to earn a surplus of US$55 million (€38 million) in 2012, thanks to the US$157 million (€110 million) deal it’s made with Argentina’s federal government in Buenos Aires.

[Source: Financial Times]

Read More

Kia Produces 300,000th Vehicle at West Point, Georgia Plant

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) celebrated production of the 300,000th vehicle today at its West Point, Georgia plant.

Mass production of the Kia Sorento CUV began at KMMG on Nov. 16, 2009, and the crossover is the Kia brand's best-selling vehicle in the U.S.

Since opening, KMMG has added two shifts and completed the hiring process for nearly 1,000 new team members, bringing the total number of jobs created at the plant to more than 3,000. The critically-acclaimed Optima midsize sedan will be added to the production line later this year, and the plant has begun a series of expansion projects to increase its annual capacity to 360,000 vehicles in 2012.

"The completion of our 300,000th vehicle in less than two years is another historic milestone for KMMG, and the success of the plant is attributable to each team members' commitment to outstanding quality," said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of Kia Motors America (KMA) and KMMG. "Now, with three full shifts of production and the upcoming addition of the Optima, our production goals will continue to be very aggressive."

Vehicle number 300,000 was a silver Sorento SX that will now be allocated to one of KMA's more than 730 dealers nationwide.

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Ga. At full capacity, the plant will have the ability to build 360,000 vehicles annually from U.S. and globally-sourced parts.

[Source: Kia]

Read More

Kia Most Improved Brand in ALG Perceived Quality Study

ALG, a company best known for predicting residual values on vehicles in its automotive lease guides, also conducts ‘Perceived Quality’ studies. And the findings of its most recent one (Spring 2011); indicated that of all automakers that sell cars and trucks in the U.S., the most improved in the mainstream category was Kia Motors.

“For Kia, the consumer quality recognition is the payoff for a recent revolution in product quality and design supported by aggressive marketing campaigns,” declared Eric Lyman; ALG’s Director of Residual Value Solutions.

Other brands that reported notable gains in perceived quality included Land Rover; largely fueled by the growing popularity of the Ranger Rover Sport and new Evoque models.

In terms of the top five automakers in the mainstream category, there were few surprises: Honda, Toyota, Ford Trucks, Subaru and Nissan were ranked in that order as delivering the best in perceived vehicle quality. In the luxury category Lexus ranked first, followed by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche and Acura.

[Source: Kia]

Read More

Kia's Chief Designer Schreyer Confirms Roadster in Plans

A veritable avalanche of rumours has beaten down on the net these last few weeks about Kia’s plans for marketing a roadster shortly. Today, Peter Schreyer, the Korean manufacturers chief designer and man behind the Audi TT, confirmed his desire to develop such a model – but not for another year.

He says he wants to create “some sort of roadster or convertible” but “a car like that needs to make money, and this is not so easy,” hinting at the monumental task ahead of him.

Before embarking on this adventure, Schreyer says he needs to “do his homework” and revamp the Sedona and Rondo, the only two models that haven’t undergone his brand of shock therapy that is in part responsible for the company’s recent success.

[Source: Automotive News (Image: Auto Express)]

Read More

Hyundai Best Selling Passenger Car Brand in Canada

Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. announced today that after the first six months of 2011 the company is Canada's best-selling passenger car brand. Further, its 2011 year-to-date sales have increased 10.5% to 68,721 units.

In the month of June Hyundai sold 13,435 units, representing a 16.8% increase over the same month last year and setting a new company record for the month. The company has now achieved 30 consecutive months of year-over-year sales growth. Hyundai also remained the best-selling import company for the second consecutive month in June.

"Hyundai's sales in June epitomized the company's performance in the first half of 2011," said Steve Kelleher, President and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. "Hyundai vehicles are really resonating with Canadian shoppers with an unmatched combination of quality, design and value. Consumers are also recognizing that Hyundai offers tremendous fuel economy. They notice that we offer fuel-saving technologies as standard equipment, unlike some of our competitors that add thousands of dollars in extra costs for a special 'eco' trim. Consumers in the compact and subcompact segments want to save money on fuel, and at Hyundai, best-in-class fuel efficiency is standard with the Elantra and Accent."

Kelleher added that in response to growing consumer interest in fuel efficient vehicles, the company will begin announcing the percentage of total sales that are of vehicles with fuel efficiency ratings better than 5.0 L/100 km (40 US miles per gallon). "Hyundai is dedicated to leading the industry in fuel efficiency by implementing the latest in fuel saving technology into its vehicles. Where cars that consume less than 5.0 litres of fuel per 100 km used to be reserved for a select few subcompacts, Hyundai today offers a subcompact, compact and intermediate sedan that surpass the new threshold for excellent fuel economy."

In June, no less than 33.2% of sales were from Hyundai vehicles that consume less than 5.0 L/100 km. The Sonata Hybrid intermediate sedan, Elantra compact sedan and Accent subcompact consume fuel at a respective rate of just 4.6, 4.9 and 4.8 L/100km on the highway.

[Source: Hyundai Canada]

Read More

Kia Motors America Announces Record June Sales and Best-Ever Quarter in Company History

Kia Motors America's (KMA) unprecedented sales growth continues as the brand reports the best quarterly sales performance in company history – 140,330 units – on the strength of all-time record June sales. The June total of 45,044 vehicles represents a 41.2-percent increase from the same period a year earlier. KMA's year-to-date sales are up 44.1 percent over 2010 thanks to solid sales performances by the U.S.-built(1) Sorento CUV, Soul urban passenger vehicle and the Optima midsize sedan. The results mark the sixth-consecutive quarterly sales record for Kia in the U.S. Kia's funky Soul remains tremendously popular and posted its best-ever sales of 11,314 units in June.

"Kia has experienced extraordinary momentum and by achieving our sixth straight quarterly sales record it is clear that our fresh lineup continues to attract new consumers to our showrooms as a result of Kia's aggressive product-led transformation," said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG). "Soul's best-ever monthly sales result and the launch of Kia's first hybrid in June further validates Kia's strategy of bringing the most innovative, functional, and fuel-efficient products to market. These products are designed to meet and exceed the expectations of today's consumers at a tremendous value, and with exciting new products like the significantly enhanced 2012 Soul coming this summer and two all-new Rios this fall, we are well positioned to continue our growth into the future."



[Source: Kia]

Read More