CARS

Kia posts 12.6% sales increase

James R. Healey and Fred Meier

Updated Nov. 1, 2012, 2:54 p.m. ET

Year-to-date sales up 17.8%
U.S.-built Optima and Sorento are volume leaders
Monthly sales an October record

Kia reported record sales today of 42,452, up 12.6% from a year ago.

The company also said that year-to-date sales are up 17.8%

Kia credited increased brand awareness driven by a series of new marketing efforts, including a new series of TV and online ads featuring deadpan delivery by NBA star Blake Griffin, perhaps still best known for his All-Star jam leap over a Kia Optima.

And it hopes to build on its growth with new models coming next year. "The Kia brand continues to grow and mature in the U.S. market and with seven all-new and refreshed vehicles scheduled to arrive in showrooms in 2013, including the all-new 2014 Forte sedan and redesigned Sorento that will be unveiled at this month's Los Angeles Auto Show," said Byung Mo Ahn, CEO of Kia Motors America.

Volume leaders were Kia's two U.S.-built models, the Optima mid-size sedan (sales of 12,948, up from 8,616 a year ago) and the Sorento mid-size crossover (9,615, down from 10,178). The redsigned Rio subcompact showed a nice gain at 2,623, up from 2,005 and the Forte compact sold 5,911, up from 4,712.

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