Kia set a new quarterly sales record in the first three months of this year, delivering 565,355 vehicles worldwide, up 20% on the same period in 2010.
Domestic sales totalled 125,631 with exports rising to 439,724 vehicles.
The record sales are also expected to raise Kia Motors’ global market share to over 3% for first time in its history. The company’s global market share has been steadily growing from 1.9% in 2007 to 2.1% in 2008, 2.6% in 2009 and 2.9% last year.
By country, the US remained the largest market for Kia with 104,774 vehicles sold there in the January-March period. China was next with 95,451.