RECORD: Kia having their best-ever year
Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Seat are celebrating setting new sales records, as their half-year performances pointed towards continued UK growth for the brands.
Kia
During June, Kia dealers delivered 6,742 cars to customers, almost 13% up on last June’s total of 5,962.
The figure took Kia’s half-year sales to 37,178 – up 11% on 2012’s total of 33,396 and surpassing the previous record of 34,204 in 2010.
Kia’s performance was led by the Sportage compact SUV with 10,725 sales, followed by the all-new Cee’d, the Picanto city car and the Rio hatchback.
Sales were split almost evenly between retail and business customers.
The performance gave Kia a market share in June of 3.14% and a 3.2% share for the first half of 2013.
Paul Philpott, President and Chief Executive of Kia Motors (UK) Limited, said: “June has been excellent for our dealers with very strong retail demand and I believe this shows that confidence is returning to the UK new car market.
“With our sales 12% up over the same month last year, a first half performance that surpassed the height of scrappage and Sportage, cee’d and Picanto leading our sales charts, we can see that private motorists are happy to buy if they feel they are getting a quality package that suits their needs at a fair price, and with our outstanding styling and remarkable seven year warranty on top.
“We are quietly confident that with the continued appeal of the brand, the new Carens and just-launched pro_cee’d GT as well as the hard work of our dealers we can reach our stated target of a 70,000 sales this year.”
Mercedes-Benz
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz recorded their best-ever six months, registering 53,686 cars – a 14.8% year-to-date increase.
They also posted their strongest-ever Q2, with 25,470 registrations and their finest June market share, with 4.4%.
In June, Mercedes-Benz sales rose 18.5%, with 9,469 vehicles sold.
Their C-Class Coupe, E-Class Coupe, E-Class Saloon, CLS-Class and SL-Class lead their respective market segments.
The SL-class has a huge 36.8% of the market share, after a whopping sales rise of 196.4%, while the E-Class has had its most successful year ever, with 14,140 sales.
Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles also posted promising figures.
Citan had its best month yet with more than 200 registrations, with significant gains also made by Actros (62.7%), Axor (127.7%) and Econic (53.1%).
Marcus Breitschwerdt, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz UK, said: ‘Strong individual performances by key models across our passenger car and commercial vehicle operations, such as the Citan van, the new E-Class Saloon and the Actros as well as the continued great gains by AMG gave us a record performance in June and in the second quarter of the year.
“As we introduce the full range of A-Class models, build up volume on the CLA-Class and we look ahead to the arrival of the new S-Class later in the year, our diversity of products allows us to set new benchmarks and post a significant year-on-year gain and outperform the market once again.
‘It’s been an exciting and busy first half to the year; since January, the Mercedes-Benz UK website has had over 1.2million visits every month and, in May alone, nearly 50,000 eBrochure downloads took place – a new record.
“Our customer satisfaction scores have been very strong among our existing owners while at the same time the majority of those enquiring about the A-Class, introduced in January, have been new to Mercedes-Benz.
“And it’s not just new cars – used cars have benefited too, with a 51% increase in searches on our online used car locator.
“Along with my colleagues at Mercedes-Benz UK and throughout the Retailer network, I will be working hard to sustain and build on this great momentum as we look forward to a successful second half to the year.”
Seat
Seat also smashed their half-year sales record, registering 22,752 cars in 2013 – 18.6% higher than their previous best in 2012.
They also obliterated their previous-best June, clocking up 4,428 sales last month to record an impressive 29% jump on last year.
Second quarter sales were also up, a whopping 35% rise compared to 2012, making Seat on course for a fifth consecutive sales lift.
The Ibiza has spearheaded the boom, with 10,198 sales, followed by 5,096 sales of the five-door Leon.
Neil Williamson, UK Director of Seat, said: “Within the last few days we’ve picked up the coveted Auto Express Car of the Year award for the Leon five-door, launched the stunning Leon SC in the UK, and broken our half-year sales record…we’ve had worse weeks.
“Between the Mii city car, the staggeringly spacious Toledo, and the all-new Leon family, Seat now has a model range that’s broader and higher quality than ever.
“That fact, along with an ever-strengthening dealer network, is starting to show in our sales figures.
“And with further expansion of the Leon family due before the year is out, Seat UK is on course for the best year in its history.”
