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Kia Motors posts 26.0% global sales growth in July

180,930 Kia vehicles sold globally in July for 26.0% year-on-year growth, July sales in general markets, Korea, North America, Europe and China post year-on-year sales growth of 59.6%, 29.6%, 19.2%, 16.7% and 6.0%, respectively
Kia Motors Corporation announced today its global sales figures for passenger cars (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants), recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles for July 2010, recording a total of 180,930 units sold. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 26.0%.

In July, Kia posted healthy year-on-year sales increases in all sales regions: 59.6% in general markets (38,797 units sold), 29.6% in Korea (45,100 units sold), 19.2% in North America (41,071 units sold), 16.7% in Europe* (32,257 units sold) and 6.0% in China (23,705 units sold).

Cumulatively, through the first seven months of 2010, Kia 's global sales increased by 32.8% year-on-year and reaching 1,185,654 units. China and general markets have experienced the highest gains to date in 2010 of 62.6% (194,682 units sold) and 57.6% (253,116 units sold), respectively.

The remaining regions have all showed cumulative strong double digit year-on-year sales increases: 25.2% in Europe* (226,921 units sold), 20.2% in Korea (273,289 units sold), and 16.5% in North America (237,646 units sold).

Kia 's best selling model in overseas markets for the month of July was the C-segment Cerato (known as 'Forte' in some markets) with 31,704 units sold. The B-segment Rio and Sorento mid-size CUV follow with 19,636 and 15,527 units sold, respectively. The Sportage compact CUV comes in fourth with 14,135 units sold and the Soul urban crossover vehicle rounds out the top five with 13,113 units sold.

In terms of vehicle category sold overseas, Kia 's recreational vehicles and passenger cars achieved year-on-year increases in July of 35.6% (52,635 units) and 16.3% (77,960 units), respectively.

Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation , said, "Our strong sales results in all regions in July further underline that the Kia brand is being embraced by new customers around the world thanks to our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality vehicles that are hard to beat in terms of styling, fuel economy, and high-tech and convenience features. And with the all-new Sportage CUV and Optima sedan set to arrive in most dealer showrooms this year, we expect that the Kia brand will continue to be on the short-list of potential new car buyers."

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Editor's notes:
Includes figures from Western and Eastern European markets
General markets includes the regions of Central and South America, the Caribbean, Asia (excluding China), the Pacific, Middle East and Africa
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Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) -- a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart -- was founded in 1944 and is Korea's oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai- Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world's premier automotive brands. Over 1.5 million vehicles a year are produced in 13 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 172 countries. Kia today has over 42,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.6 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup™. Kia Motors Corporation 's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.

© Press Release 2010