• 1.5 millionth Kia sold in the UK was a fully electric EV6
•Best April ever recorded for Kia UK – records for plug-in and hybrid car sales
•Second best-selling eco car brand so far this year
•Fourth best-selling brand year-to-date, fifth in April
Kia has sold its 1.5 millionth car in the UK this April, amid a record-breaking month for the brand, bolstered by the brand's ever popular eco cars.
The landmark 1.5 millionth sale was a Kia EV6 'GT-Line S' in Yacht Blue, sold at 9:35am on Tuesday 16 April at Norton Way GWR Kia in Brentford, London. Some 33 years after Kia made its UK debut with the Pride, the EV6 couldn't be more different, with a fully electric powertrain, dramatic 'Opposites United' styling and cutting-edge performance, range and charging.
Demonstrating Kia's growth, Kia reached its first 500,000th sale in June 2013, 22 years after launching in the UK, in 1991. The 1 millionth Kia sold was announced in January 2019, just six years later.
Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia UK, said: 'This landmark achievement has been reached in record time and in yet another record-breaking month of sales, amplifying our continued success. This has in no small way been thanks to the continued efforts of our dealer partners and multi award-winning electrified product line-up. In the coming months and years, we're confident our growth will continue, with further customer-centric products and services arriving to exceed the expectations of our customers.'
A record April for Kia, sales amounted to 8,044 and a market share of 6.0 per cent, making Kia the fifth best-selling brand in the month and fourth in the year.
Spearheading this success were Kia's eco cars, with a new April record set for the combined sales of the brand's fully electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles. 50 per cent of Kia's sales are eco cars, both in April (3,974) with Kia the third best-selling eco car brand in the month, and second eco car brand year-to-date. It was a new record April for Kia's hybrid sales (1,882) and plug-in car sales (2,092).
Kia continued its appeal across several segments with best-sellers including the Sportage and Niro Compact SUVs, and the Picanto City Car.
The Sportage was the sixth best-selling car in the April UK market overall, and is the UK's third best-selling car year-to-date, with 2,192 sales in April and 15,824 this year respectively. Furthermore, April was the best-ever month for Sportage PHEV sales, while globally Kia sold 49,077 units of the ever-popular family SUV.
The Niro – available with fully electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid powertrains – proved consistently popular buoyed by the Niro EV, which was the ninth best-selling electric car in the month and seventh year-to-date.
Kia's popular A-segment City Car, the Picanto, was once again the best-selling car in its class with 1,148 cars sold in the month, while 4,196 sales have so far been counted this year. This result reinforces the continued popularity of Kia's smallest and most affordable car, as the new Picanto enters the market with a striking new design.
Following the brand's positive momentum, April follows Kia's best quarter sales on record, indicating the strong appetite for Kia's multi award-winning model line-up.
Photo credit: Kia posted on conceptcarz.com
