KIA´s EUROPEAN SALES SET NEW RECORD IN OCTOBER

• Demand for Kia products climbs 11% during October with 23,252 sales
• Picanto tops Kia sales chart with more than 70,000 units delivered in 2006
• Spain is Kia´s biggest market in Europe with 39,000 vehicles sold this year

Sales of Kia vehicles in Europe climbed again during October, achieving a new record for the month - up by 11% to a total of 23,252 units. Kia´s top sellers were the Picanto small car (with 6,489 sales), leading the award-winning Sorento 4x4 SUV (3,626 sales) and the Sportage compact 4x4 (3,476 sales). Germany was the biggest market for Kia with more than 3,800 vehicles delivered, 40% more than the year-ago month.

"For Kia and its dealers the middle part of 2006 has been a period of consolidation, as we brought three new models to the marketplace - the upgraded Sorento, all-new Carnival MPV and all-new Car-ens compact MPV," commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. "Those models are now reaching our showrooms in good numbers, as the October sales results con-firm. With the hugely significant introduction of the all-new Kia cee´d C-segment model, on sale from December, we are all preparing for a great year in 2007."

Over the first 10 months of 2006, Kia dealers delivered a total of 228,367 units in Europe, the same volume as in 2005 and in line with Kia´s 2006 business plans, as the company introduced a host of new models. During this period, Picanto sales (70,074 units) topped the Kia brand´s sales chart, from Sorento (35,873) and Sportage (30,643) to complete Kia´s top sellers table. So far this year, Spain is proving to be Kia´s largest European market with almost 39,000 units delivered.

Around the globe, Kia overseas sales climb 4.8%

Kia Motors Corporation overseas retail sales of passenger cars and light trucks in October 2006 reached 66,542 units, representing a 4.8% year-on-year increase, with 23,210 units delivered to cus-tomers in North America and 15,180 units sold across the General Market*. Cumulatively through the first 10 months of 2006, Kia´s overseas sales have risen by 2.4% year-on-year to reach a grand total of 699,238 units.

"The steady growth of Kia sales in the European region thus far in 2006, has been supported by strong demand for our vehicles in the Eastern Europe and CIS Countries*, which has seen sales of Kia cars increase by 42% year-on-year through October," commented Jung-Moon Park, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation.

Globally, Kia´s best selling export model has been the Cerato (also known as ´Spectra´ in some mar-kets) with 109,484 units sold, mostly in the USA and Canada. Meanwhile, the A-segment Picanto placed second with 106,856 sales, followed very closely by the award-winning Sorento mid-size SUV which attracted 106,576 buyers.

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Editors´ Notes

* Kia Global Sales Regions
´General Market´ includes the regions of Central & South America, Asia & Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
´CIS Countries´ include Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Kia Motors Europe
Kia Motors Europe is the European sales, marketing, and service arm of Kia Motors Corporation. With its headquarters in Eschborn, Germany, it covers 29 markets in Europe.

About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com) was founded in 1944 and is Korea´s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world´s premier automotive brands.

Kia´s 12 manufacturing and assembly operations in seven countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 160 countries. Kia today has 32,500 employees and annual revenues of US$16 billion.

Kia is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. Tennis sensation Rafael Nadal is a global brand ambassador for the Kia brand appearing in Kia´s global advertising campaigns in TV and print media over the next two years (until 2008). He will also help to promote the Kia brand at several international motor shows.

From 2007 to 2014, Kia will be an official automotive partner of FIFA - governing body of soccer´s FIFA World Cup. Kia boosted its football links this year with three new sponsorships of major teams that will see the Kia logo appearing in the UEFA Champions League - FC Girondins de Bordeaux, FC Brussels and Atletico de Madrid.

Kia Motors Corporation´s brand slogan - ´The Power to Surprise´ - represents the company´s global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.

Press Contact

Mr Panu Vainamo
Tel 0049 6196 5092 132 Email pvainamo@kia-europe.com
Kia Motors Europe GmbH
Hauptstrasse 185, 65760 Eschborn, Germany.
Tel 0049 6196 5092 132 Fax 0049 6196 5092 100