Kia poised to outsell Hyundai this year, but it won’t be gloating

Kia will outsell its larger Korean competitor – and major shareholder – Hyundai in the Australian sales race this year, for the first time.

However, Kia Australia’s chief operating officer Damien Meredith insists there’s no internal battle between the brands for sales supremacy.

“Of course we’re excited about it, the consistent growth that’s come from the brand over a long period of time,” Mr Meredith told us.

“We set goals for market share and volume, but the honest truth is we don’t sit down and talk about how we beat Hyundai or Mitsubishi or Ford.

“Yes we are ahead of where we were planning to be,” he added.

Kia Australia’s sales to the end of November this year sit at 72,700, up 15 per cent. That places it ahead of Mitsubishi (72,064) and Hyundai (68,911).

Only Toyota (214,776) and Mazda (87,218) sit ahead of the rapidly growing Korean brand, which is thereby primed for a podium finish for the first time.

Ten years ago, Kia’s market share in Australia (2.6 per cent) was less than one-third that of its major shareholder, Hyundai (8.5 per cent).

MORE: Kia’s rapid growth tracked, as it overtakes Hyundai in Australia