The new Sportage, a compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) of South Korea’s automaker Kia Motors Corp., has been selling like hot cakes in the U.K. and the U.S. According to the automobile industry on Friday, the new Sportage made the top 10 best-selling car list for the first time in the U.K. in February with the sales of 1,521 units. The sales in April almost doubled to 3,167 units from February. The automaker started to sell the SUV in February and the car has swept the country since then for three months.
Thanks to the sales boost, Kia’s market share in the U.K has recorded all-time high for three years. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the automaker had 3.62 percent market share in April, the highest since July in 2013. The carmaker’s market share came to 0.82 percent in 2003 when it started to sell cars in the U.K. market. The market share exceeded 2 percent for the first time in 2009. It reached a record high of 3.26 percent in 2012 and it has continued to slightly decrease over the last few years.
The new Sportage has also fared well in the U.S. market. The automaker sold 56,508 units in the U.S. in April, up 6.1 percent on year. In particular, 7,645 units of the Sprotage were selling in April, up 78.9 percent from last year. In the Chinese market, the car fell short of the expectation in March but more than 7,800 units of the car were sold in April.
“The 4th generation Sprotage has gained popularity in foreign markets thanks to its performance and design and, with the globally growing popularity of SUV, we expect to see the sales increase more in the U.K,” said an official of the automaker.
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