February 2011 global Kia sales numbers

Kia Motors posts almost 20 percent global sales rise in February 2011. New models expected to contribute to further success for the brand in 2011.

Latest global sales figures, released by Kia Motors a few days ago, reveal the South Korean second-largest automaker continues to grow significantly worldwide. Kia said its global sales rose 18,5 percent in February 2011 from a year ago, for a total of 169.727 units. Cumulatively, through the first two months of the year, the carmaker’s sales have increased by 18,9 percent year-on-year to reach 349.136 units.

Kia Forte continues to perform well, not only in the States, but also elsewhere around the world. The all-new Forte was Kia’s best-selling nameplate in February 2011, with more than 30.860 units sold worldwide. It was followed by new Sportage crossover and Rio sub-compact car taking second and third spots with 22.275 and 15.851 units sold, respectively.  The US-built Sorento CUV came in fourth with 14.460 units sold, while Soul crossover (12.722 units sold) rounded out the top five selling Kia vehicles last month.During the month of February, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in all regions of the world: 35,6 percent in North America where 36.676 Kia’s had been sold, 18.6 percent in Europe (29,644 units sold), 17,5 percent in South Korea (39.029 units sold) and 5,4 percent in China (26.802 Kia’s sold).

While many automotive industry experts predict Kia’s sales will grow at slower pace than in 2010, the automaker will still outperform the overall market. It is expected that new models, such as the 2012 Kia Rio and A-segment Kia Picanto will help the carmaker to gain more market share and increase its sales by at least 15 percent. Combined sales of Kia and Hyundai are predicted to hit 6.33 million cars in 2011 – up 10% from 5.75 million vehicles sold last year. [Source: Kia]