Kia's April sales fall 5.3 pct as demand remains weak

SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp. said Thursday its sales fell 5.3 percent last month compared with a year earlier on weak domestic demand.

Kia sold 227,773 vehicles in April, down from 240,620 units a year ago due to a lack of competitive new models, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales declined 16 percent on-year to 42,000 units last month from 50,004. Overseas sales were down 2.5 percent to 185,773 from 190,616 during the same period, it said.

To prop up sales, Kia plans to launch the all-new Soul box car and an upcoming entry-level SUV, under the project name SP2, in the United States and other markets this year.

In the January-April period, sales fell 1.1 percent to 877,669 autos from 886,994 during the same period last year, the statement said.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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