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The new Kia Sportage (provided by Kia)

Kia ranked first in monthly sales in the UK for the first time in the 31 years since it entered the British market.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported Wednesday that Kia had sold 10,504 vehicles in the British market last month, putting it in first place ahead of Audi and Volkswagen.

It was the automaker’s first time topping the rankings since it entered the British market in 1991. Its market share also reached an all-time high of 9.13%.

The sales figures were up by 67.5% from the 6,271 vehicles sold during the same month in 2021.

Audi came in second with 8,567 vehicles sold and a 7.44% market share, while Volkswagen was in third with 8,514 vehicles sold and a 7.40% market share.

Hyundai Motor was in ninth place with 5,624 vehicles sold.

Kia’s strong performance came largely thanks to its Sportage and Niro SUV models. The Sportage ranked No. 1 in sales for all automobile models with 3,458 units. The Niro ranked third with 2,372 vehicles sold.

According to analysts, the performance reflects the results of Kia driving up sales with competitive electric vehicle (EV) models like the Niro EV and EV6 in response to a large increase in EV industry demand within the UK.

Paul Philpott, CEO of Kia UK, said the record sales numbers last month were made by close cooperation between the corporation and dealer network to provide customers with competitive products. He also predicted that the growth trend in sales would continue amid a rise in demand for Kia models since last summer.

Kia hopes to continue its sales growth with a new Sportage model launched early this month.

In January, a total of 115,087 vehicles were sold in the British automobile market, representing a rise of 27.5% year over year.

By Ahn Tae-ho, staff reporter

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