Kia posts 3.1% global sales rise in October

Kia Motors Corporation announced on Sunday that its global sales figures (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) for passenger cars, recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles for October 2012, recording a total of 228,146 units sold. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 3.1 per cent. In October, Kia posted a year-on-year sales increases of 14.0 per cent in North America (48,880 units sold) and 7.4 per cent in Europe (49,168 units sold). Meanwhile, October sales in general markets, Korea and China decreased by 1.5 per cent (41,989 units sold), 1.7 per cent  (40,600 units sold) and 2.6 per cent (47,509 units sold) respectively. Cumulatively through the first ten months of 2012, Kia’s global sales have increased by 10.7 per cent year-on-year to reach 2,262,933 units. Europe, North America and China have experienced the highest cumulative gains to date in 2012 of 22.0 per cent (482,335 units sold), 18.1% (545,487 units sold), and 10.4 per cent (403,656 units sold), respectively. Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets for the month of October was the B-segment Rio (known as ‘K2’ in China) with 37,618 units sold. The Sportage compact CUV was the second best seller with 32,013 units delivered, while the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Forte’ in some markets), D-segment Optima sedan and Sorento mid-size CUV followed with 30,885” 21,932” and 18,424 units sold, respectively. Meanwhile, South Korean carmaker Kia Motors Corp said recently that output in Slovakia had surpassed 253,000 vehicles already this year, outstripping last year’s total thanks to European demand for its compact cars and SUVs. The company, which made 252,252 cars in 2011 at its plant located in the northern Slovak town of Zilina, said on Thursday October output jumped by 35 percent on the year to 30,000 vehicles, marking the biggest monthly volume on record. The growth is in stark contrast with the rest of the European car industry, which has shed thousands of jobs as the economic downturn erodes demand and forced measures such as Ford Motor Co’s plan to close a Belgian factory with more than 4,000 workers and shift production to Spain. From Gulf Today