PICANTO POWERS KIA SALES IN EUROPE

• Picanto is ´best-selling´ Kia in Europe with almost 32,000 sales so far this year
• May sales jump 51%, to more than 22,500 units across Europe
• Sales for first five months around 107,000 with a 68% leap

Kia Motors Europe Headquarters, Eschborn, Germany - 3 June 2005

Official Kia sales figures for the 28 countries comprising its European sales division, confirm that the Picanto small car is proving immensely popular all across Europe, and is now attracting 8,000 new customer each month. The spacious five-door hatchback, which brings bigger-car build quality and driving feel to the A-Segment, is attracting more and more ´first-time´ customers to the Kia brand.

The top-three selling Kia models during May were Picanto (7,941 units), Sportage (3,629) and Sorento (2,923) followed by Kia´s C-Segment contender, the Cerato, which recorded its best ever month since launch with availability of Kia´s highly competitive 1.5-litre diesel engine boosting sales to 2,351 cars. The top-six markets for Kia during May were Spain, Germany, the UK, Italy, Netherlands and France. While the highest growth rates were achieved by Greece (up 123%), Denmark (119%), Poland (101%) and Belgium (95%). Total sales for May reached an all-time high of 22,536 units, a 51% increase on the same period of 2004.

Total Kia sales for the period January-to-May this year was 107,612 units, representing a 68% increase over the first five months of 2004. Best selling model was the Picanto (31,977 units), ahead of the Sorento (18,010), Sportage (16,556) and Carnival (9,891). Spain was Kia´s biggest market with a total of 16,359 cars delivered, just clear of Italy´s 16,177 units, and Greece showed the largest improvement with a 213% rise to achieve 4,795 sales, of which 2,695units were Picanto cars, and claim seventh place in Kia´s overall sales league table.

"Kia´s remarkable sales performance across Europe over the first five months of 2005 has been a fantastic achievement," commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Europe. "Once again the monthly sales figures confirm that the technology, quality, style and comfort of modern Kia cars - not just their traditionally competitive equipment and pricing - are finely tuned to the needs of European motorists.

"With the steady introduction of diesel engines across our product line-up of passenger and recreational vehicles - including the all-new diesel Picanto which will arrive in dealer showrooms during the Autumn - their already strong appeal is being boosted even further and we are confident that Kia will continue to attract new customers in large numbers throughout 2005," asserted Lievens.

Editors Notes

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 28 markets in Europe. The European sales target is 330,000 units per year by 2005, thanks to new products and new diesel engines.

About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com) - the fastest growing automaker in the world - 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 16 manufacturing and assembly operations in 12 countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 155 countries. Kia today has 32,000 employees and annual revenues of US$14 billion.
Kia is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. 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:

Dr Iris Kirschbaum
Tel 0049 6196 5092 132 Email i.kirschbaum@kia-europe.com

Kia Motors Europe GmbH
Hauptstrasse 185, 65760 Eschborn, Germany.
Tel.: +49 (6196) 509 2132 / Fax.: +49 (6196) 509 2100