Kia Motors targets 10 pct sales growth at home in 2009

SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest
automaker, is targeting 10 percent annual growth in domestic vehicle sales this
year despite sluggish demand, a company executive said Monday.

Kia aims to sell 350,000 vehicles in South Korea this year, compared with 316,432
vehicles sold last year, said Seo Choon-kwan, the executive in charge of domestic
sales.
Kia also aims to increase its domestic market share to 35 percent from 27.1
percent, Seo wrote in an article for a monthly magazine published by the Korea
Automobile Manufacturers Association, an industry group.
"We will make our utmost effort to maximize our sales and marketing efforts to
turn the pending crisis into an opportunity," he wrote.
This marks the first time that Kia publicly announced its sales target for this
year.
Hyundai Motor Co., the parent of Kia, has not announced its sales target amid
market uncertainty.
Auto sales by South Korean automakers, led by Hyundai and Kia, dropped 8 percent
in February as demand for their vehicles wilted amid a global downturn and
sluggish consumption at home.
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