[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Kia has surpassed 50 million units in global cumulative sales 59 years after launching Korea's first three-wheeled vehicle, the 'K-360,' in 1962.
Kia announced on the 3rd that it sold a total of 50,121,112 units globally, including 14,240,581 units domestically and 35,879,531 units overseas, as of May this year.
After achieving 10 million global sales in 2003, Kia reached 20 million in 2010, 30 million in 2014, 40 million in 2017, and has now reached the 50 million milestone in just four years.
Since surpassing 2 million units in annual global sales for the first time in 2010, Kia has recorded an average annual global sales volume of over 2.7 million units.
Exports and overseas local sales accounted for more than 70% of total sales, and in the domestic market, Kia has achieved annual sales of over 500,000 units for six consecutive years since 2015.
Domestically, Kia's representative steady sellers, the Sorento and Carnival, have consistently sold more than 6,000 units each month this year, while the new passenger car model K8 has continued its sales surge with pre-orders reaching about 24,000 units, which is 30% of the annual sales target of 80,000 units.
Additionally, Kia's first dedicated electric vehicle, the EV6, has received over 30,000 pre-orders, showing balanced popularity across eco-friendly vehicle models, and it is expected to break last year's domestic market record of 552,400 units sold.
In overseas markets, leisure vehicles (RVs) such as the Sportage, which was Kia's first model to surpass 6 million units in global cumulative sales, along with the Sorento and Carnival, led sales.
Sales of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) like the Telluride and Seltos have also been steady in overseas local markets. Since its launch in the U.S. in March 2019, the Telluride has sold over 180,000 units, and the Seltos has sold over 170,000 units since its launch in the Indian market in August 2019, accounting for about 70% of Kia's sales in India.
By model, the compact SUV Sportage holds the top spot with an overwhelming sales volume of 6.14 million units. The Sportage has sold more than 5.38 million units overseas alone, becoming Kia's first model to exceed 6 million units in global cumulative sales.
Following that, the Pride, launched in 1987 and popular as a representative subcompact car, ranks second with 3.92 million units, followed by the Sorento (3.7 million units), Morning (3.4 million units), and Bongo (3.2 million units).
Meanwhile, to celebrate reaching 50 million units in global cumulative sales, Kia is conducting a special appreciation promotion for customers. Throughout June, customers who visit Kia showrooms and enter the event will be entered into a draw to win generous prizes including ▲ Samsung air conditioner (1 winner) ▲ Seamarq Hotel accommodation voucher (2 winners) ▲ Nintendo Switch Ring Fit (5 winners) ▲ GS Caltex gift certificates (50 winners) ▲ Starbucks dessert sets (200 winners) ▲ Baskin-Robbins ice cream (100 winners).
Additionally, among the event participants, 5,000 will be selected by lottery to receive a 100,000 KRW coupon that can be used as a down payment support when signing a vehicle contract, and various sales events by model will also be held.
A Kia official said, "Thanks to the support from our customers, we were able to achieve the great milestone of 50 million units in global cumulative sales," adding, "We will continue to repay our customers with excellent quality and better service."
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