European Kia dealers delivered a total of 18,552 vehicles in February, as sales set a new all-time high record for the month, climbing 4.5% higher than the 17,752 sales the brand achieved for that period in 2005.

For the second month of 2006, Kia’s top selling models were the Picanto small car (with 5,428 sales), heading the Sorento SUV (3,260 sales), the compact 4x4 Sportage (2,806 sales) and the New Rio B-segment hatchback, performing strongly.

Kia sold 1,249 cars in February in the UK, a 1.64% market share. In February 2005 it sold 934 units.

"Sales results for the first two months of 2006, more than 37,000 units, are in line with our objectives and confirm that more new ‘conquest’ customers are switching to the Kia brand. I’m delighted to observe that this conversion process is accelerating with each new model we introduce," said Jean-Charles Lievens, senior vice-president Kia Motors Europe.

"In this landmark year for Kia, New Magentis reaches showrooms this month, New Carnival and new generation Sorento were both highly praised on their debuts at the Geneva Show last week and we have two more major model introductions during the autumn before we become a European car manufacturer when production in Slovakia starts during December. So 2006 is already shaping up to be a great year for Kia in Europe."