Kia Motors Corporation has announced that its global sales figures for 2009 reached an all-time high of 1,651,920 units. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 20.1%, cementing Kia’s position as one of the world’s fasting growing automakers. This comes after sister company Hyundai breached the three million unit mark for the first time in 2009 (up 11.6%), bringing the combined Hyundai-Kia total to over 4.75 million units sold.
By region, Kia posted year-on-year increases in China (256,732 units, up 69.9%), Korea (412,752 units, up 30.4%), North America (346,181 units, up 11.3%), Western Europe (242,288 units, up 7.7%) and general markets (304,522 units, up 16.2%). Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets was the C-segment Forte with 304,295 units sold.
We have previously commented on brands that provide value for money thriving in uncertain economic times, such as Skoda, Hyundai and Kia. While the Czech brand provides VW tech on the cheap, the Koreans are riding on improved design and quality plus their customary long warranties and lower purchase price.
But where are these increased sales coming from? At the expense of the guys at the top, of course. Toyota has just released its 2009 sales figures which saw a 13% drop to 7.81 million, and Detroit giants GM and Ford have been hurt by poor domestic performance. These companies will also face challenge from a motivated Volkswagen (6.29 million in 2009, up 1.1%), which aims to unseat Toyota by 2018.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Pemandu Berhemah
on 
La Vecchia Signora
on 
MADBOY
on 
vnoz
on 
amirad
on 
sirimusa
on 
funny
on 
redxdevil
on 
kopi-man
on 
wolfsburg
on 
BeemerFreak
on 
@ntiperodua
on 
BrakeFader
on 
Sam
on 
littlefire
on 
I-HATE-PROTON-SOHAI
on 
Mohd
on 
acerman
on 
Proton-is-a-joke
on 
Gajen
on 
Two_Faces
on 
samn (Member)
on 
peYno
on 
FIXER (Member)
on 
Mufasa
on 
Jarum
on 
sparrow
on 
4G63T DSM
on 
mystvearn
on 
T0ny
on 
Leonardo
on 
Jumbsuck
on 
squawk
on 
reuben how
on 
top_gunkits (Member)
on 
AI-generated Summary ✨
Comments appreciated the rise of Kia and Hyundai, praising their improved design, quality, and value for money, with some suggesting they may surpass Japanese brands. There was criticism of Proton's quality and rebadging strategies, and calls for Malaysia to learn from Korean automakers' success. A few commenters expressed frustration with Proton's management and highlighted the Korean brands' technological advancements and competitive pricing. Overall, the sentiment favors Korean brands' recent progress over local Malaysian manufacturers.