South Korean manufacturer Kia has unveiled plans to move to a head office in Walton, Surrey, on the back of a record year for new car sales in the UK.
The brand registered 66,629 units in 2012, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, up 24.27% on the 2011 total, increasing Kia’s market share to 3.26%, up 0.5ppts, and beating its own prediction made in early December to sell 65,000 units.
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By model, Kia new registrations were 15,830 for the cee’d, 14,964 for the Sportage and just over 14,500 for the Picanto.
100,000-a-year
Paul Philpott, president and chief executive of Kia Motors (UK) said: "This is an excellent performance that matches the challenging targets we have set ourselves as we seek to build Kia into a 100,000 unit a year brand".
As such, Kia anticipates 70,000 sales in the UK in 2013 and will open a 1.1 acre retail site on a prominent thoroughfare in West London in 2014.
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By GlobalDataThe move to Walton, a few miles down the A3050 from Kia’s current HQ in Weybridge, is planned for Autumn and will double the space available to employees.
richard.brown@timetric.com
