Sales Record for Kia in November

It has been quite an exciting year for South Korean manufacturer Kia in the US, especially because of the repeated sales records broken month after month by a manufacturer who, despite the fact it is not that powerful like Toyota for instance, it is quickly trying to catch up.

Kia announced today the sales figures for November and, along with them, a new record for the manufacturer. In all, Kia sold 26,601 vehicles, or a huge 48.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The eight consecutive monthly sales record this year for Kia means that it has managed to already sell, since the beginning of the year and with one month left, 16.8 percent more vehicles than it did in 2009.

"Surpassing our previous best annual U.S. sales mark in just 11 months is the ultimate proof of the dramatic impact Kia's design-led transformation is having on the brand in terms of increased consumer awareness and consideration of Kia," said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG).

"Our transformation continues with the all-new 2011 Optima now arriving in showrooms, to be followed in the coming months by the introduction of our first turbocharged and hybrid vehicles in the U.S."

The best selling Kia models last month were the 2011 Sorento, which is manufactured in the US, a model which accounted for the bulk of the total units sold by Kia: 9,618 units. The next best selling models, in order, were the Soul, Forte and Forte Koup. Together with the Sorento, they account for over 80 percent of Kia's sales.