Kia sold more than 100,000 cars in the UK for the first time during 2022, achieving its best-ever market share in the process.
The success means the UK becomes Kia’s fifth global market to reach the 100,000 sales landmark – ahead of other European countries such as Germany and France.
The only other places Kia has sold more than 100,000 cars in a single year are the USA, China, South Korea and Russia.
Since it arrived in the UK back in 1991, Kia has sold almost 1.4 million cars here.
It now commands a 6.2 percent share of the UK marketplace, making it the sixth biggest car brand in terms of sales volume.
Kia electrified
Kia’s mix of car sales in the UK is increasingly electrified. In 2022, 42.9 percent of cars sold here were either fully electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid.
Its pure EV mix was 16.3 percent – and could have been higher still had it been able to secure greater supplies of electric cars.
The waiting list for the range-topping Kia EV6 is currently around a year, revealed the company – and a fifth of its forward order bank is for electric cars.
Between now and 2027, as part of its Plan S strategy, Kia will launch nine new electric cars in the UK.
One of these will be the range-topping Kia EV9 SUV, which will be revealed in early 2023.
‘Feels momentous’
Kia UK president and CEO Paul Philpott told Motoring Research that achieving the firm’s long-term goal of 100,000 sales “feels momentous”.
He continued: “At the end of scrappage 15 years ago, we were on 30,000 sales a year, which quickly grew to 50,000.
“We set out the vision of 100,000 sales as a motivator – without putting a year on it.
“To have got here, after having got so close in 2019, is a huge achievement. Kia HQ in Korea is already sending us positive messages.”
Kia is not going to rest on its laurels either, said Philpott. The company is planning to grow sales by another five percent in 2023 – with “profitable and sustainable” volumes.
After launching new Sportage and Niro models in 2022, plus facelifting the XCeed (the three cars comprise 70 percent of Kia UK sales), the focus for 2023 will be on preparing for the launch of the EV9 later this year.
“It will be our biggest car ever, at our highest price point. But thanks to plenty of investment in training, knowledge and technical support, our retailers are ready for it.”
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