KIA ends 2008 xCee'dingly well

Kia Motors (UK) Limited ended 2008 with a total new car sales figure of 31,323 - an increase of more than six per cent over 2007 despite the economic downturn that has plagued the UK market.

Tough economic conditions saw the UK new car market fall by 11.3 per cent to 2.13 million and some brands register second-half falls of more than 30 per cent, but Kia’s thoroughly modern, attractively-designed, fuel-efficient and excellent value range continued to appeal to motorists looking for the perfect package in tough times.

Kia’s retail market share increased to almost 1.8 per cent and in the market as a whole this was where the biggest falls were seen with the overall retail market down by 14.7 per cent.

The Kia brand – led by the remarkable response to the cee’d family and its industry-leading seven year warranty – also continued to prove attractive to the motor trade looking for a way out of the economic gloom with 31 new dealer appointments being made during the year and 16 going live before the end of 2008.

Paul Philpott, Managing Director, said: “Two years ago we started the process of re-focussing the Kia business in the UK on a strong retail presence and reducing our reliance on expensive buy-back fleet business. We wanted to work in partnership with motivated and profitable dealers and the fact that we have been able to weather the desperate economic conditions that have hit the markets – particularly in the second-half of the year – is testament to that plan.

“Now we have to keep up the effort in order to hit our target of increasing sales in 2009 by another two or three per cent when we expect the market to shrink by a further 15 per cent,” he added.

And that determination was echoed by Yaser Shabsogh, Sales Director, who commented: “Every day has been a battle in the second half of 2008 but thanks to an excellent product line-up and a fantastic network we have been able to go to the car-buyers who are in the market and convince them of the sense of buying Kia.

“We shall continue to recruit high-quality dealers in 2009 to fill open points in our network but the most important element of our strategy is that we continue to offer unrivalled quality and value to retail and business customers and that we ensure our dealers can make a sensible profit in tough times,” Shabsogh added.