Kia Sales Surpass Half-Million Mark in U.K.

Kia’s record 5,604 deliveries in May push the Korean brand over the 500,000-unit mark since it debuted on the U.K. market in 1991.

With year-to-date sales up 10.6% from like-2012 to a record 30,441 units, Kia U.K. President and CEO Paul Philpott credits the growth in recent years to a combination of great new products and changing perceptions of the brand.

“We predict that we will achieve 1 million registrations in the U.K. before the end of the decade, and our long-term ambition is to become a top-five-volume car brand in the UK,” he says in a statement. “Considering that our year-to-date sales equal our entire annual performance from just five years ago, I am confident we will get there.”

The first Kia launched in the U.K. was the Pride in 1991, the auto maker’s original A-segment car and predecessor to the current Picanto. Kia sold 1,786 units that year and reached the 100,000 mark three years later. The 250,000th vehicle was sold in 2008.