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 March 2012, recording a total of 245,238 units sold. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 13.4%.
In March, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in all regions of the world with an exception of Kia’s home market of Korea – 29.4% in North America (64,133 units sold); 19.3% in Europe* (54,106); 19.1% in China (40,427 units sold); 8.0% in general markets (44,522 units sold)*; and a -8.8% decrease in (42,050 units sold) in Korea.
Cumulatively, through the first three months of 2012, Kia’s global sales have increased by 12.6% year-on-year to reach 636,398 units. North America and Europe have experienced the highest cumulative gains to date in 2012 of 30.8% (153,106 units sold) and 26.2% (128,661 units sold), respectively.
Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets for the month of March was the B-segment Rio (known as ‘K2’ in China) with 42,771 units sold. The Sportage compact CUV was the second best seller with 32,325 units delivered, while the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Forte’ in some markets), D-segment Optima sedan and Sorento mid-size CUV followed with 29,429, 24,333 and 18,437 units sold, respectively.
Tae-Hyun (Thomas) Oh, Executive Vice President & COO of Kia Motors Corporation, said, “We are pleased to have continued sales growth in the first quarter of 2012, especially in North America where Kia Motors America set an all-time monthly sales record last month. We are confident that delivering world-class design, vastly improved quality and outstanding fuel economy in these times of rising oil prices are among several factors contributing to our strong growth in the first quarter of the year.”
Additionally, the March 2012 result ranks as the best monthly sales overall for the Kia brand in its U.S. history. Sales for the month of March were led by the all-new Kia Optima sedan, Sorento CUV and Soul urban crossover. The three vehicles all surpassed the 10,000 unit sales mark for the first time in company history and accounted for 67.7-percent of Kia’s March 2012 sales.
The stylish Optima mid-size sedan took the lead with sales of 15,008 units. It was followed by Kia Soul and Sorento crossover vehicles with sales of 13,607 and 10,303 units, respectively.
Kia Forte sedan, including the Forte 5 and Forte Koup, also performed well last month, with sales totaling 8,381 units. The B-segment Rio sedan and hatchback rounded out the top five with sales of 4,509 units.
Kia Sportage posted March 2012 sales of 3,643 units, while Sedona minivan sales totaled 2,054.
March 2012 and year-to-date sales highlights:
- Kia’s the fastest growing car company in the USA
- three Kia vehicles surpass the 10,000 units sales mark
- Kia Optima sales surpass 15,000 units mark in one month alone
- March 2012 marks the first time Kia sales topped 50,000 units in a single month
