Kia Motors America Announces 2007 - 14th Consecutive Year of Record Sales

IRVINE, Calif., Jan.4, 2008 -- Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced its 14th consecutive year of record sales with 305,473 units sold, a 3.8-percent year-over-year increase. Kia saw nine months of record sales in 2007. Leading the way for the brand in 2007 were Rio, Optima and Sportage, which ended the year with its best month of the year.

"In a year that was not particularly good for the industry, Kia continued to thrive with another record year and the passing of the 300,000-units-sold mark," said Len Hunt, president and CEO of Kia Motors America. "As we begin 2008, we are optimistic that with our current line-up and the introduction of the seven-passenger Borrego SUV, Kia will continue its trend of year-over-year record sales."

Sportage sold 49,393 units, a 33.2-percent year-over-year increase while Rio sold 33,370 units, a 17.5-percent increase, and Optima sold 40,901 units, a 6.5-percent year-over-year increase. Rondo, in its first full-year on the market, sold 26,020 units.

Kia Motors America -- the sales, marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation in Seoul, South Korea -- offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 640 dealers throughout the United States.

                             MONTH OF DECEMBER            YEAR-TO-DATE
  Model                      2007          2006         2007          2006
  Rio                       2,910         2,843       33,370        28,388
  Spectra                   6,688         9,275       73,474        72,557
  Optima                    3,235         3,834       40,901        38,408
  Amanti                      125           584        5,522         9,594
  Sportage                  5,109         4,900       49,393        37,071
  Sorento                   1,636         2,573       36,300        50,672
  Sedona                    2,493         5,586       40,493        57,018
  Rondo                     1,872           409       26,020           594
  Total                    24,068        30,004      305,473       294,302

                     Total U.S. Sales Of Kia Vehicles

                 1994       1995      1996       1997      1998       1999
  January         605      1,227     1,508      2,624     7,197      9,461
  February        626      1,053     1,887      2,529     6,196      6,703
  March           638      1,309     2,197      3,093     6,082     11,400
  April           714      1,256     2,300      3,541     5,530     10,606
  May           1,010      1,907     3,481      4,917     6,301     12,795
  June          1,053      1,665     4,401      3,992     9,215     13,593
  July          1,106      2,662     3,241      5,024    10,095     13,136
  August        1,368      2,881     4,229      6,321     8,016     13,138
  September     1,528      2,729     3,780      7,123     7,355     11,846
  October       1,207      2,437     3,797      5,913     8,634     10,641
  November      1,156      2,640     3,174      5,317     4,730     11,820
  December      1,152      2,974     2,279      4,931     3,542      9,455
  Total        12,163     24,740    36,274     55,325    82,893    134,594

                 2000       2001      2002       2003      2004       2005
  January       8,143     12,513    16,574     18,524    17,029     17,154
  February     11,392     12,665    17,509     17,769    18,586     20,454
  March        12,729     19,159    21,478     21,353    23,769     25,722
  April        12,422     16,060    20,366     19,542    23,438     27,158
  May          13,709     20,048    22,790     22,007    25,443     25,503
  June         16,140     21,188    22,498     20,311    27,636     27,095
  July         12,300     19,405    23,061     24,009    23,637     26,052
  August       16,454     23,276    23,564     24,758    21,132     23,820
  September    16,438     20,585    18,179     19,269    23,001     23,404
  October      13,726     24,523    17,960     15,181    22,973     20,631
  November     12,643     16,940    18,741     16,173    23,303     20,091
  December     14,510     17,365    14,625     18,575    20,108     18,767
  Total       160,606    223,727   237,345    237,471   270,055    275,851

                 2006       2007
  January      18,110     22,524
  February     20,719     23,512
  March        26,004     27,567
  April        27,808     26,007
  May          26,494     28,494
  June         27,443     26,288
  July         26,429     26,690
  August       25,114     26,874
  September    23,877     24,087
  October      20,097     25,185
  November     22,203     24,177
  December     30,004     24,068
  Total       294,302    305,473