5:57 am, May 1, 2012
KIA Motors has announced major increases in sales volumes, revenue and profit for the first quarter of 2012.
With 635,000 vehicles sold across the world – an increase of 12.4 per cent over 2011 – the firm recorded revenues of 11.8 trillion Korean Won (£6.5bn), up 10.6 per cent, and net profit of 1.2 trillion Korean Won (£625m), up 26 per cent.
Despite a fall in domestic sales, all other parts of the world saw dramatic increases in vehicle sales and for the first time the United States market overtook Korea as the company’s biggest.
The European market saw sales increase from 63,000 units in 2011 to 79,000 this year – a 24.6 per cent increase. China recorded a 14.7 per cent increase with numbers rising from 95,000 to 110,000, but in the United States an almost 32 per cent surge in demand saw sales rise to 138,000 in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 105,000 units in the same period last year.
The Korean market performance fell by eight per cent from 125,000 to 115,000. Other markets around the world accounted for sales of 194,000 – a 9.9 per cent increase over the 2011 figure of 176,000.
