KIA global sales on the rise
October 22, 2008 by Matt Brogan
KIA Motors Corporation has announced that its global car and commercial vehicle sales are on the rise with September figures showing international sales for that month of 110,431 units, representing a 2.7 percent year-on-year increase.
Cumulatively, through the first nine months of 2008, KIA’s global sales increased by 14.4 percent year-on-year and reached 1,062,379 units. China experienced the largest gains in sales of 38.1 percent selling 112,502 units.
“The total volume of sales remains solid across all markets, even considering the uncertain economic times we are facing.” Senior Executive Vice President and COO of the International Business Division Hyoung-Keun Lee said, “During the first nine months, KIA Motors has performed strongly in all markets, particularly through our significant gains achieved in China and general markets. Entering the final quarter, we will continue to monitor the global sales patterns prudently.”
So far in 2008, KIA’s best selling model in overseas markets has been the Cerato (known as ‘Spectra’ in some markets) with 154,929 units sold. It is closely followed by the Rio at 121,896 units, Cee’d at 116,097 units and Sportage (pictured) at 111,870 units. The Picanto rounds out the group with 74,915 units sold.
Print it: 
Well done KIA. I think it’s good to see their product and sales improving. Might start rattling the cages of those who’ve rested on their laurels for far too long.
They cant make enough cars, i have some customers waiting two months for a Rio.
Next year we have the new Cerato, Soul. and Sorento with a 3.3ltr turbo diesel seven seater.
I am now selling more cars than the boys at Ford (both yards)
proves a few things,doesn’t it,mr salesman,
1.fords in deep s….GM’s ve tops vehicle sales once again this month(wheels mag)
2.petrol prices have really driven most average aussies out of their beloved family hacks into little puss buckets.
3.5 yr warrenty’s are great selling tools when there free.
4.ANYONE willing to wait months for a rio,or any small tin can car,is a motorist,not a driver,with one hand on their wallet,and the other on their d…
5.your getting rich($75 dollars at a time)…
6.your warrenty clerk is losing his hair(only joking mate,got a opening up there)
I think Ford might have something for you :)
KIA sux, they still build crap looking cars, I know many people who have had trouble with Rio’s in the past not to mention other models.. Crap quality >>>> Crap resale..
Team Vodafone,,,,Endurance Experts
You present a compelling argument; I will not try and change your opinion. It is not necessary. Instead I urge you to conceder a fact.
Hyundai – Kia now fifth highest manufacturer in the world
Of course you are going to hear more about them because there are more of them to hear about.
Customer complaints based on product satisfaction is now in the top 10 least complained about just behind the Japanese makes. (JD Power)
Also, tell me a customer who has ever been happy with the re sale on any car traded in.
I have never had a customer ask me to pay them less on a trade.
Hell, 2 months for a rio!!! Imagine their disappointment when it arrives. Some people (lemmings/sheep) will queue for anything these days.
WVB,
They are in the car now and are very happy
………..Still, people queued for henry’s model T and I guess that was slightly popular with similarities abound.
The Salesman Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 am
“They are in the car now and are very happy”
Yeah they’ll only be happy until they go to trade it in/sell it where it’ll be worth nothing.
Hey Salesman, tell me, how long have you been selling Kias for? Were you selling them back in the late 90’s? If so, how many customers came back after a couple of weeks with death threats? Kia might’ve improved their product over the last number of years, but they’re still cheap and nasty, and they appeal to the masses who want something for nothing, the sort of ppl who think Crazy Clarks is better than David Jones.
Whether you think you can, or you think you can not. Either way you are right.
Henry Ford
^salesman, jokes aside, I concede kia like Hyundai like soon to be available great wall motors etc all build a product that fits this market and budget. Crap or otherwise, the irony here is ford no longer fill this market (or any for that matter) nor does VW’s beetle, BMW’s (BMC’s) mini or Fiat’s 500. all once ‘peoples’ car makers.
You’d better get back to work, there’s a queue forming at your desk……………….
VW Freak,
I used to have a graph that worked out my average death threats per month.
Nine years with Kia now (I am still alive). They are definitely working hard on shaking the nasty, but still want to be known as the most affordable (or cheap, as you put it)
Lots of people out there with a Crazy Clark’s budget who are attracted to the prospect of a new car and new car warranty at a used car price, for value, Kia make a compelling argument.
Re sale is a common argument, as I said no customer I ever dealt with has been happy with re sale on any make of car traded.
Over the last five or so years Kia have concentrated greatly on customer satisfaction with a similar model that Toyota currently use.
My repeat and referral business is strong and i have many more examples of happy customers than i have of un happy customers.
I did spend a year with Toyota as new car manager and I can tell you that they are more interested in the Koreans then what Holden and Ford might be doing.
And they consider Hyundai – Kia to be the biggest threat over the next ten years.
Also Kia have achieved a few mile stones with carnival holding since 1999 the top spot for number one selling people mover (despite the trouble with the rover motor)
And Rio awarded the most economical car to own (RACV) in 2007
WVB,
Hyundai – Kia motor company was formed in 1999. Its the same product.
No customers today (so far)
Time for a coffee…..
So (worldwide) Kia have done equivalent to the entire Australian yearly market in just 9 months – kinda’ explains difficulties the market volume puts onto the local “design & manufacture” makes.
Salesman:
“I am now selling more cars than the boys at Ford”
MacDonalds drive through chick:
“I am now selling more meals than the restaurant at the Hilton”
Cheap will always have a market I guess….
Great, another 110,431 boring as batsh#t cars on the road, thanks to Korea – the land of low cost (=low quality), high volume car producers.
I went to work in South Korea once – you know who the 2 biggest ship builders in the world are? In order – Hyundai & Daewoo, with Samsung running a close 3rd. Very proud of that fact they were, and I was suitably impressed too. But it made me what the hell do they know about making good quality, well engineered cars?
Ahhhh, we have a Ford dealer as well, that’s what i was referring to.
And who here dose not like McDonalds, the most successful burger franchise in the world. Good reference point. I agree with you.
Do you know how much the term “would you like fries with that” added to McDonalds bottom line?
Not bad profit for a cheap burger hay?
LH,
People used to wonder the same about Toyota, Just saying….
The Salesman:
Yes, they did. But even you would have to agree that Toyota consistently backed it up with desirable, well engineered, trustworthy, reliable vehicles that were actually worth the money you paid for them. In fact, Mitsubishi & Subaru made war planes if I remember correctly, as did Saab, while Samsung make electronic goods. My point is that of those companies that have started operations in fields other than vehicle manufacture, they have all quickly become reknowned for making reliabale, good quailty cars that deliver consistent, problem free motoring. Yes, there may have been initial pessism from consumers about each one of them, but that quickly subsided once people understood that they weren’t buying “Jap crap”. But why has the stigma associated with Korean made cars lingered for so long now? They have had long enough to prove everyone wrong – hell, Hyundai has been on the scene for over 20 years or so. So why does the average punter still regard them so poorly? My guess is that they simply haven’t done enough to prove the naysayers wrong.
I remember going to look at new cars for my ex-g/friend about 10 years ago – and the choice was down to either a Toyota Starlet, or Hyundai Excel (back when both were $12,990 drive away). The sales person from Hyundai basically told us, “look, I could sell you an Excel, but to be honest I don’t want the resultant headaches. I currently have 13 (that’s right, 13) irate customers who have had their cars off the road with problems a number of times in the first few months, so go for the Toyota”. I was dumbfounded, totally floored. So, no Korean cars for me thanks, regardless of how good the people selling say they have become. Sorry mate. Good luck with it though.
LH,
You bring up some interesting points. You mention Mitsubishi; did you know Hyundai-Kia have an engine development alliance with Mitsubishi – Chrysler?
The engines are the same. (Lancer same engine and transition as Kia Magentis)
10 Years ago is a long time, much has been achieved in just 10 years, not just with cars.
Kia started in 1945, Hyundai in 1953. Kia founded itself on military trucks, buses and 4×4’s. (no road side assistance back then, so they had to be reliable) The technology they developed has been sold to other companies around the world.
The evidence speaks for itself, 83% of Kia owners by from the same manufacturer again (globally) in N.Z KIA has the highest customer retention rate (look it up)
JD Power tells us that Kia are in the top ten for the lest amount of warranty complaints per 100 vehicles sold.
Kia – Hyundai back their cars with a five year unlimited klm warranty (know anyone else with the b8lls to back their product with the same?)
Carnival is the number one selling people mover in Australia and has been since 1999.
I think your reference to Kia as a bad car is outdated and is more to do with not being educated enough on the product. Do some research and you might just have to change your mind, I know you will be surprised.
^ LH, Although a different arm of the korean but actually, kia started in 1944 making bikes and then cars from 1952. I remember reading about how old ‘company’ is some time back and just had another look.
Therefore based on your argument this ones really had 56 years to get it right.
Still not a big fan but………….
^salesman, i think mitsi still push their bal#sy 10 year engine/trans, 5 year vehicle warranty……anyone?
The Salesman, I’m not that much of an enthusiast to know the facts as well as you do, or to go researching the history that you have mentioned, but kudos to you for doing so. I really don’t care all that much, I was just bored at work this afternoon and slacking off and throwing some commentary out there. This is obviously your livelihood and you need the Koreans to be building good cars, and if the data is telling you they are, then that’s great. I was interested to see while working there just how insulated the Koreans are – they use Korean made electronics, air conditioners, white goods, cars, trucks, computers, phones etc – virtually nothing is imported.
I have just never, and will never, trust their cars, and maybe that’s my loss. It’s like when I was faced with the choice of a new car for work 2 years ago – I could buy anything in the $40-45K range that I liked. I was actually liking the look of the new Santa Fe. I ummed and aahed about it, took it for a drive and that’s when it lost me. It just felt cheap and uninspiring. Cheap, high volume production Korean cars will always have their place in the market (as this article’s sales figures clearly demonstrate), but I will never be amongst those 110,431.
LH,
I have worked with Kia for nine years so i do have a passion for the product.
But i am not ignorant to those with different opinions.
I hope Kia has a product one day that you just can’t walk away from.
WVB,
I stand corrected, thank you. Still better than the majority, Would you agree?…..
after working in kia service for just over a year, i have not seen a car with so many recalls and problems!
kia rio’s and their door glasses just dropping!
kia carnivals and their short engine replacements!
kia stereo’s frying for no reason!
hmmm awesome cars, in the end you get what you pay for!
You will find Toyota, Ford, Holden had more recalls than Kia ever had.
well since the dealership that i worked at owned kia (but got rid of them cuz they were shite) holden toyota subaru and suzuki and i was a service advisor for all makes, i find that very hard to believe indeed
KIRST,
And how was Ross Liewellyn to work for?
Kirst,
Fair enough, look up JD Power, all the answers are there.
My other threads answer to simpler statements as yours. I am not protecting the product; i know first hand all the problems they had.
Toyota recently re called nearly 500 Land cruisers for the axels to be replaced and i don’t know how many Camerys because in the indicator stall had the headlight switch that was not connecting fully resulting in the headlights just turning off (didn’t hear about that one on ACA)
Jeeps are spontaneously combusting. Need i go on?
DanMan
lets just say Im not there anymore along with alot of other employee’s
Salesman you have to have something in the back of your mind,99% of people here are idiots and think that this global giant(Hyundai-Kia for the dummies)is 20 years behind the other car companies.But we know who is 20 years behind dont we.Sad stupid noneducated people.
Hey Kirst surely RLM couldn’t be as bad as some of the other dealers in SE QLD, I won’t mention names but there’s a rather large dealer owned by a WA company that apparently not the best to work for and have massive staff turnover. And funnily enough they do Kia Krap as well.
KIRST,
God i love the internet for finding stuff out..
See how i did that, huh,huh. LOL.
Yes a good dealership is hard to find. The horror stories i could you..
Happy now, but yes they have a rep.
If you Blog here, obviously you have a passion they just didn’t appreciate..
VW Freak,
Sounds like Hupps? Starts with a Z?
Kirst,
John Sumner, Robert Tohleck, Shane Milverton. Any of these ring a bell?
Toyota recalls 210,000 Prado SUVs worldwide for axle problem
TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. will recall about 210,000 Land Cruiser Prados worldwide due to an axle problem, Japan’s largest automaker said Tuesday.
About 100,000 vehicles will be recalled in Japan in addition to about 110,000 others, mainly in Australia, Europe and China, according to company spokesman Paul Nolasco.
The Prado is not sold in North America, nor are any Land Cruisers based on the Prado model, he said.
The vehicles were produced between April 1996 and January 1999, the company said in a statement.
The company said that a crack may occur in the Prado’s rear axle shaft if it is repeatedly driven on winding roads in the mountains at a high speed, it said, warning that a wheel may come off in the worst case.
SALESPERSON,
THIS WAS IN 2006… 8000 CHECKED UNDER WARRANTY AND 200 REPLACED..
ALL GOOD.
Have owned a Grand Carnival for two years and no problems.
Fit and finish as good as anything else. Very happy with it.
Goes well,Smooth quiet ride.
Agreed Realcars and Salesman…my father’s Sportage V6 almost 2 years now without any problems and a great car!
I stopped reading the lame comments from these losers a month ago and am now enjoying this site a lot more as a result.
funny that
Again, people like LH are still living in the 80’s and don t give a damn to whatever has happned in the last 2 decades in the auto industry. If the low price was the only reason for Kia’s sales increase then why a company like Proton’s sales figure is not improving as much? by now these Malaysian guys gotta be overtaking Kia don’t they? they are so much cheaper than Kia why not?
If a car can sell well only because it is cheap then Hyundai-Kia would never have been able to overtake Honda, Nissan and Peugeot and become the 5th largest manufacturer World wide in sales because there are lots of Indians and Chinese pushing out much cheaper cars(though extremely nasty).
People like LH never bother to look at surveys by reputable consumer research firms like J.D Power where Hyundai and Kia have been rated top 5 and 10 for initial quality and dependability for the last 4-5 years.
Well it s not only Americans that know Hyundai-Kia are not what they used to be.
The Autobuilt, a top German motor magazine, has also ranked the Kia C’eed the 2nd in their direct comparison test for C segment where the Kia has beaten up the likes of Peugeot 308 and Opel Astra.
To people like LH : Would they have been able to achieve all this if they only tried to keep their prices low? ask your self the answer is obvious.
I suggest you go on the net and read some of the reputable motor magazines and keep up-to-date. so you can figure out what has happened and what is going on with car makers.
LH, Korean white goods and home electronics are on par with those of Japanese, this is an established fact no argument. That s why they hardly export any because they hardly need to.(By the way have you ever owned anything badged Samsung or LG?) The same for the Japanese they hardly export any white goods or TVs because theirs are already better than anyone else’s in the rest of the world.
I agree with The Salesman, Realcars and Roddy. My parents both have Kia’s one as old as 7 years in fact, and neither have had a single problem.
Kirst Says:
well since the dealership that i worked at owned kia (but got rid of them cuz they were shite)
Is that what they told you?, HAHAHAHA. I know the owner of Ipswich Kia who confirmed Ross Llewellyn had the franchise removed from them by Kia Australia because of poor customer satisfaction. (Ouch)
Not your fault i guess, but they went going to tell you the truth, were they?
DanMan,
No offence intended, next time i will think of a different example to base my comparison on.
Just saying Kia is not the only company that has endured a mass recall.
If they *could* sell the Kia Pregio for $25k, they would once again sell a shitload of them.
Went from zero to hero as in #1 diesel van in record time, all up to you Kia, PRICE will increase your sales volumes.
For mine Kias these days are to expensive, they are *trying* to sell them at Japanese quality vehicles prices.
On drugs guys, Hyunkia is a bargain basement brand, always was always will be
Cheers
F-0
FRUGAL_ONE
You can still buy a Pregio, from Hyundai; it is called a I Load.
They are Japanese quality now, according to JD Power and several other motoring authorities.
Get educated FO. Or are you just learning this stuff from the blokes at the Pub?
Snif, Huuuuck, Spit…..
Shinzitsu,
Take it easy, son. I didn’t realise you were the owner of every Korean car brand – I figure you must be to be so opinionated about them. What I was discussing with the Salesman was that in MY opinion, I prefer other cars than those made by the likes of Kia, Hyundai, Daewoo etc. It wasn’t a personal attack on all things Korean. I havve never liked the build materials, quality or designs of those manufacturers, and prefer others. I think they are boring as batshit and appear to me to be poor quality.
You have a differing opinion and so what, good on you. Why do people on this website start getting so upset over other people’s opinions? Isn’t that what this forum is for – to express differing ideas and opinions? You like Kia’s, I don’t. I like Mazda, who knows, maybe you don’t. I also thought Mazda went through a woeful, poor design phase throughout the 90’s, and they have rectified that. As I said above, I took a Santa Fe for test drive – the first Korean car that I actually liked the look of. But it felt cheap, the quality of the build seemed poor, and it was a very uninspiring drive experience. But again, that’s my opinion.
When a Korean car maker builds a car that looks good, drives beautifully and feels like quality, I’ll have another look. Simple.
SALESMAN-
GrowUp!
I drove a Pregio for near a year, know it well thanks.
PREGIO SOLD IN HUGE NUMBERS THANKS TO ITS PRICE
The same spec LorryLoad is near $10k more
Cheers
F-0
FRUGAL_ONE
Your quote is incorrect, as before mentioned Kia have achieved Japanese quality, as i said do your research every motoring magazine and motoring authority disagrees with you.
Kia will always be price driven; it is a market they created. I wish we still had the Pergio, as you said we sold plenty of them.
The Salesman Says: “Kia will always be price driven; it is a market they created”
No actually that market was around many, many years before Kia, most recently the current bout of price driven market was started by Hyundai. Kia is just following, and not just the “market”.
Bret,
Kia and Hyundai are the same company. It is called the Hyundai – Kia motor company. (Google it)
Kia started in 1944
and Hyundai in 1953
merged 1999
Anti spam word Kia, ironic
FRUGAL ONE………….out there in cosmos comments still. I see – hmmmmmmmm interesting!
I own a 2.4 Magentis and also a Cerato hatch. Both cars have been trouble free and I will continue to buy there cars. I owned a RIO before the Cerato and that to was trouble free. People talk about re-sale, I purchased my RIO in 2002 for $14,990 drive away and after 4 years I got $7000 trade on a $17990 Cerato. 46% after 4 years wasn’t bad I think for a car that still had the original clutch & battery after 65,000 kms. People need to forget the past and look into the future. Look at Holden, they too use Daewoos (Barina, VIVA, EPICA, Captiva) rebadged as a Holden to make a sale.
My father has an 04 Optima and his has been trouble free. My work mate has 2 Optimas, an 04 and an 05 and he openly says he will definately buy another KIA. Everyone that I know that owns a KIA has had trouble free motoring and would definately buy again.
I agree ken they can have there fancy oh what a feeling ads and feel good zoom zoom what i want is absolute value for my hard earned money and kia and hyundai do it well.