Kia Motors America Announces Record March 2006 Sales

Best First Quarter Ever Keeps Company on Pace for Another Consecutive Record Sales Year

IRVINE, Calif., April 3 -- Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced its best first quarter sales ever of 64,833 units, a 2.4-percent increase year to date. KMA also experienced its best March sales ever, posting 26,004 total sales for the month, a 1.1-percent increase over the same period last year. The Sedona minivan had its best first quarter ever at 17,111 units and total Sedona sales for March were 6,202, a 52-percent increase over last month. Both the Kia Sorento and Kia Spectra were strong sellers in March, with 4,040 and 4,601 units sold respectively.

"Once again Kia is on the move, as evidenced by our best first quarter sales and best March ever," said Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of KMA. "The all-new Sedona led the way in the first quarter, and we expect the all-new 2006.5 Optima -- which received glowing praise from the media at last week's press launch -- will follow suit."

Kia Motors America is the sales, marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea. For more information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.

                  MONTH OF MARCH             YEAR-TO-DATE
  Model          2006         2005         2006         2005
  Rio           3,168        2,932        7,828        7,556
  Spectra       4,601        5,110       11,507       11,398
  Optima        3,958        4,950        6,740       12,433
  Amanti          623        1,982        1,754        6,184
  Sportage      3,412        3,515        9,635        4,197
  Sorento       4,040        3,156       10,258        9,942
  Sedona        6,202        4,076       17,111       11,619

  Total        26,004       25,721       64,833       63,329