Record high October sales for Kia

Kia Motors announced last week that it has sold a record number of vehicles during October.

The affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co. said it sold more than 140,000 units during the month, an increase of 35 percent from the same month last year. The company’s previous monthly sales record was about 132,500, in November last year.

Of the 140,000 vehicles the company sold last month, more than 115,000 units were accounted for by overseas sales – including exports and vehicles produced at the company’s overseas plants.

Kia Motors’ overseas sales for September were recorded at just below 90,000 units and the figure for October last year was less than 80,000.

“The company’s Slovakian plant has played an important role in pushing sales to record levels,” said a Kia Motors’ official.

“The sales of the cee’d and the Sportage produced at the plant have been very popular in Europe and their sales have significantly contributed to the record breaking sales last month.”

According to the company’s figures, at nearly 30,000 units, the cee’d and Sportage accounted for almost a third of its overseas sales last month.

The company’s domestic sales also rose in October by nearly 5,000 units from the previous month to be recorded at over 25,000 units, the highest since December last year.

Last month Hyundai Motor also reported record October sales. The company sold over 240,000 units in local and overseas markets last month. The figures for the same month last year and the previous month were recorded at approximately 210,000 and 190,000 units, respectively.

Hyundai and Kia’s January-to-October sales had risen by 5.4 and 9.6 percent, respectively, from the same period last year, the companies said.