Kia US Going Up in Sales... Fourth Time in Row

Kia Forte

Kia might not have huge sales in the US (who does anyway these days?), but at least they're constantly going up, at least that's what the company's press release stated. Apparently, KMA or Kia Motors America posted a June sales figure of 26,845 with the year-to-date sales standing at 147,404.

{ad]These figures translate into a 3% increase from May, with Optima and Rio having the most significant month-over-month increases of 57 and 46.9 percent, respectively. Sportage was no shy to increases either as Kia reports 6,267 units sold in June, 42.1 percent more compared to May.

Kia's press release also contains figures for the newly launched models, Borrego, Soul and Forte, the top player being the Soul with June sales of 2,811 units. Speaking of Soul, the year-to-date sales stand at 11,174 units, which is not quite a shabby figure for the Koreans' hip vehicle. Borrego and Forte sold 428 and 258 units, respectively, the year-to-date figures being 2,597 units for the former and 268 units for the latter.

Sales chart

Although month-over-month sales have increased, 2009 figures for most of the company's models have decreased compared to 2008. Rio, for instance, went down from 20,961 to 11,742, while Spectra tumbled from 42,957 units in 2008 to 36,997 units.

As the press release mentions, Kia has refreshed its lineup with the Forte model, available in two versions. The Forte compact sedan is already available on the market, while Kia's first two-door coupe, the Forte Koup, will hit retailers later this summer. June also saw the launch of the Denim Soul special edition, Kia promising even more special editions throughout the year.