USA SALES MAY - KIA - The Budget brand has seens sales really fall off the cliff.

• Forte Nameplate Sets New Monthly Sales Record for Second Straight Month

Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced May sales of 58,507 vehicles, led by the popular Forte family of compact cars with an all-time monthly high of 11,801 units, up 19-percent over May 2016.

The Rio dropped sales by about half in May, with the Forte growing by nearly 2,000 units, Optima, cadenza and K900 all remained on a par with a year earlier, the NIRO, the new hybrid car helped the bottom line with 2,660 units making the brands downturn not as bad as it could have been.

The Sportage and Sorento both saw sales drop off, which considering that the SUV/Crossover segment is running at a high throught all brands, the Sedona was another model that dropped 1,609 units to a 3,261 total in the month, and lastly the Kia Soul, the funky small crossover dropped by about a quarter, even the year to date figures for the range are significantly lower than at the same point a year earlier.

	MONTH OF MAY		YEAR-TO-DATE
Model	2017	2016	2017	2016
Rio	1,187	2,241	5,722	10,130
Forte	11,801	9,910	47,359	43,572
Optima	10,789	10,895	48,465	51,887
Cadenza	528	468	2,153	2,553
K900	46	54	193	377
Niro	2,660	N/A	10,488	N/A
Sportage	7,001	8,568	28,087	33,680
Sorento	10,413	11,914	40,505	46,960
Sedona	3,561	5,170	12,998	18,297
Soul	10,521	13,706	43,623	58,299
Total	58,507	62,926	239,593	265,755

* The Sorento and Optima GDI (EX, SX & Limited and certain LX Trims only) are assembled in the United States from U.S. and globally sourced parts.

Kia takes a couple of spots in this years DieselCar Top 50 with the NIRO, cee'd and Sportage all taking awards.

• All-new Kia Niro tops the hybrid category in the joint Diesel Car and Eco Car 2017 awards
• Sportage claims third position out of the top 50 highly rated vehicles available in the UK
• cee’d is rated at number 40
• Kia models impressed judges with their practicality, style, economy and value for money 

Kia has received yet more recognition and won a tightly contested award in this years’ Diesel Car and Eco Car Awards, with the all-new Kia Niro hybrid crossover winning best hybrid vehicle and the Kia cee’d and Sportage models coming well within the top 50 cars available in the UK, concluded by the panel of judges of Diesel Car and Eco Car.

The all-new Niro was launched in August 2016 and presents customers with the high efficiency and low running costs of a petrol-electric car with the style, practicality and desirability of a compact crossover. The judges awarded the model with an overall place of 38 and were impressed by the vehicle’s efficiency and customer-friendly styling and practicality.

Ian Robertson, Editor and Publisher of Diesel Car and Eco Car commented, “Some hybrids have often come under fire for being awkwardly styled, but not so the Kia Niro, which embraces the booming crossover trend, but still offers wallet-friendly running costs. 

Looking just as stylish as the Sportage SUV, the Niro can return over 70mpg and offer all the space a family should need. It might be high-tech, but its comprehensive seven-year warranty will reassure owners that this family-sized Kia is built to last.”

Last years’ car of the year for Diesel Car, the Kia Sportage, came in at a very respectable number three overall in the 2017 awards. The vehicle has created huge success for the Kia brand in the UK in the past year and a half, with 2016 sales exceeding 40,000 alone.

“Last year’s winner can hold its head high, smashing sales targets for Kia and still being one of the best medium SUVs money can buy. The latest Sportage is the biggest yet, with plenty of space for five people and their luggage. 

On the road, the 1.7- and 2.0-litre diesel engines are refined, easy to drive and free from body roll in the corners, making it a relaxing place for passengers. That awesome seven-year warranty and an impressive list of standard kit makes the Sportage an even more compelling buy.” Said Ian Robertson, Editor and Publisher of Diesel Car and Eco Car.

Finally, it was the cee’d which also received highly positive recognition from the judges, the model which is now five years old in its current version, came well into the top 50 taking the 40 spot. It impressed judges with its sharp and handsome looks, generous equipment levels, good road manners, economy and that it’s managed to stay competitive even in 2017.

This award win and recognition for Kia in the UK comes at a very successful time for the brand and further bolsters that success. Every month of 2017 has been a new sales record for the business and with an increasing product line upcoming later this year, Kia’s new and existing customers are going to be well catered for.

USA SALES APRIL - KIA - The Korean brand has taken a massive drop in sales for the month.

Kia Motors America today announced April sales of 53,358 units, led by the Forte nameplate with 10,496 units sold, the highest monthly sales total in company history for the family of compact cars, going through each model, starting with the Rio which took a huge nose dive on the same month a year ago, yes the Forte did grow but only slightly.

The Optima, Cadenza and K900 all took dips, but the sales drop was helped with nearly 3000 (2939) units being sold by the all new NIRO hybrid car, The Sportage sook a huge drop, losing 2,000 units, 1,000 units down on the Sorento, and another over 2,300 drop on the Soul model.

The Sedona grew, but only slightly, so for the month for Kia, the Forte, NIRO and Sedona were the only positive points with all other models losing sales over the same month one year ago, which is really not great news for the brand.

	MONTH OF APRIL		YEAR-TO-DATE
Model	2017	2016	2017	2016
Rio	1,463	2,523	4,535	7,889
Forte	10,496	9,740	35,558	33,662
Optima	10,731	11,224	37,676	40,992
Cadenza	500	533	1,625	2,085
K900	39	77	147	323
Niro	2,939	N/A	7,828	N/A
Sportage	5,672	7,645	21,086	25,112
Sorento	9,317	10,353	30,092	35,046
Sedona	3,019	2,896	9,437	13,127
Soul	9,182	11,517	33,102	44,593
Total

USA SALES MARCH - KIA - The brand has dropped a significant number of units this month.

• Forte Family of Compact Cars Leads March Sales

Kia Motors America today announced March sales of 49,429 units, led by the Forte family of compact cars with 10,289 units sold. The month also saw sales of the all-new Niro^** climb to 2,704 units in the crossover’s second full month of availability.

The Rio has dropped a large amount due in part to the all new model due imminently, the other sedans were also all, in the main down in sales, the all-new Niro has produced a significant amount of sales with the second month sales tipping 2,700. 

We then have the Crossover and SUV side of the brand, unfortunately, these are all down too, meaning that the brand for the month was down around 9,000 units, to a low figure of 48,429 units in the month.

	MONTH OF MARCH		YEAR-TO-DATE
Model	2017	2016	2017	2016
Rio	1,246	2,475	3,072	5,366
Forte	10,289	10,406	25,062	23,922
Optima	10,204	11,725	26,945	29,768
Cadenza	437	593	1,125	1,552
K900	43	95	108	246
Niro	2,704	N/A	4,889	N/A
Sportage	5,560	6,804	15,414	17,467
Sorento	7,751	9,897	20,775	24,693
Sedona	2,769	4,241	6,418	10,231
Soul	8,426	12,043	23,920	33,076
Total	49,429	58,279	127,728	146,321

* The Sorento and Optima GDI (EX, SX & Limited and certain LX Trims only) are assembled in the United States from U.S. and globally sourced parts.

^** Quantities are limited.

USA SALES FEBRUARY - KIA - Even with an all new car, sales are seriously down on the month.

Best-Ever February Sales for the Forte Family of Compact Cars

Kia Motors America today announced February sales of 42,673 units, led by the Optima midsize sedan with 8,892 units sold. The month also saw the best February sales performance in company history for the Forte family of compact cars, and 2,143 units of the all-new Niro crossoverⁱ sold in its first full month of availability.

Although the brand had its best ever February for the Forte family and the Niro posted significant numbers in the month, it has to be noted that Kia US still posted sales of over 7,000 units lower than a year ago, and thats a number that the brand can not sustain for long before it becomes a major issue.

	MONTH OF FEBRUARY		YEAR-TO-DATE
Model	2017	2016	2017	2016
Rio	840	1,461	1,826	2,891
Forte	8,506	8,187	14,773	13,516
Optima	8,892	9,630	16,741	18,043
Cadenza	372	585	688	959
K900	31	83	65	151
Niro	2,143	N/A	2,185	N/A
Sportage	5,231	5,860	9,854	10,663
Sorento	6,845	8,101	13,024	14,796
Sedona	2,111	3,988	3,649	5,990
Soul	7,702	11,842	15,494	21,033
Total	42,673	49,737	78,299	88,042