Kia has managed to record positive global sales figures so far this year, despite of a disastrous month of November that saw global figures drop by more than 13 per cent in the wake of production halts and shortages of key components.
Across the first 11 months of this year, Kia sold 2,570,588 vehicles around the world. That’s up 7.6 per cent on the 2,389,081 units delivered during the same period in 2020.
For the month of November, global Kia sales stand at 222,232 units, down 13.3 per cent on the same month last year. This was made up of an 8.9 per cent decline in Korean deliveries to 46,042 units, and the rest of global units decreasing by 14.3 per cent to just 176,190 for the month.
Sales of the Seltos small SUV topped Kia’s global deliveries for November, with 22,929 units, followed by the Sportage with 20,992 units, and the little Kia Rio with 17,115 units delivered globally. In the Korean market, the Sportage remains the top-seller with 7540 sales, while the Sorento took out second place with 4903 units delivered.
Here in Australia, Kia saw sales decrease by 8.6 per cent for the month of November according the VFACTS figures, with a total of 4915 units delivered. However, the local company’s year-to-date sales tally remains healthy with 63,084 units, marking a significant 22.8 per cent increase over the 51,376 delivered during the same period last year.
The best-selling Kia in Australia so far this year has been the Cerato with 17,198 sales (up 5.9 per cent YTD), followed by the Seltos with 8149 units (down 9.6 per cent), and then the Sportage with 7114 units (down 20.1 per cent).
The company says that it is actively adjusting its production numbers in line with the available inventory, adding that a gradual increase in vehicle production numbers has been in place since September. This will help the company rebound from the less-than-desirable figures.
