KIA MOTORS AMERICA ANNOUNCES OCTOBER 2003 SALES

IRVINE, Calif., November 3, 2003 – Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced monthly sales of 15,181 units for October 2003. Year-to-date sales for KMA totaled 202,723 units.

“During the month of October, we experienced a lack of available inventory as our parent company worked diligently to make up for production lost during the recent labor negotiations in Korea,” said Peter M. Butterfield, Kia Motors America’s president and chief executive officer. “We expect to see inventories begin to recover in November as well as appropriate vehicle allocations by region. We are looking forward to the official launch of our new Amanti large premium sedan in December, and the world premier of our next generation Spectra four-door sedan at the North American International Auto Show in January.”

Several Kia models have continued to produce healthy year-to-date sales increases. The Optima midsize sedan is up 16 percent and the popular Sedona minivan is up 28 percent versus last year.

Kia Motors America is the U.S. sales, marketing and service arm of Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea.

MONTH OF OCTOBER
YEAR-TO-DATE
Model
2003
2002 2003 2002
Optima
2,193
1,194 27,496 23,726
Rio
4,622
4,430 34,570 44,825
Sedona
2,961
2,214 43,336 33,954
Spectra
2,701
4,642 57,815 64,121
Sportage
29
3,316 5,565 34,948
Sorento
2,675
2,164 33,941 2,405
Total
15,181
17,960 202,723 203,979

Download this press release (requires Acrobat Reader).