Kia clocks global sales of 2.61m units in 2020, down 5.9%

Kia Motors has reported 2020 global sales of 2.61 million units in 2020, down 5.9 percent from 2019. The Korean carmaker attributes the sales decline to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and difficult circumstances in global markets.

Sales in Korea saw a 6.2 percent increase from 2019 to 552,400 units, while sales outside of Korea retreated 8.7 percent to 2.05 million units.

The Sportage SUV topped Kia’s global sales ranking with 366,929 units sold, followed by the Seltos SUV with 328,128 units and the K3 sedan with 237,688 units.

Kia, which is preparing a brand transformation in 2021, based on its Plan S business strategy, is targeting global sales of 2.92 million units this year. The number includes 535,000 units in Korea and 2.39 million units from overseas markets. Kia also seeks to bolster profitability with flexible operations tailored to each region.

For December alone, Kia’s monthly sales slid 3.8 percent from a year earlier to 218,256 units, as Korea sales dropped to 38,857 units, a 20.9 percent decrease due to production disruptions in local plants. Sales outside of Korea jumped 1 percent to 179,399 units.