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Kia dealers see record fleet sales led by strong public sector & SME demand

By / 10 years ago / Latest News / No Comments

The carmaker said that corporate sales via its 177-strong dealer network rose 37% last year, with strong growth in all channels including independent contract hire, Kia contract hire and in the public sector.

Business registrations via the dealer network rose from just under 3,100 in 2010 to more than 14,000 vehicles last year, giving a market share of 2.7% excluding daily rental, Motability and demonstrators.

There was particularly strong growth in public sector sales, which have risen from virtually zero in 2010 to more than 2,500 cars in 2013. Meanwhile Kia Contract Hire numbers rocketed from 221 to 3,200 in the same period.

The brand adds that Sportage, cee'd and Rio all performed strongly – accounting for more than 12,000 sales in 2013.

John Hargreaves, head of fleet and remarketing at Kia Motors (UK) Limited, said: ‘Increasing business sales through our network has been central to our plan over recent years and we are now seeing a very strong return from that strategy. We took a decision to carefully manage our sales into the big fleet channels such as daily rental and Motability and we have provided support for our dealers to help them understand and maximise the local business possibilities and to compete effectively.’

Hargreaves commented that one major area of success for dealers has been in sales to SMEs, which increased by 30% in 2013.

The brand added that it is ‘targeting continued growth in these channels in 2014 to further focus profitable and sustainable business through the dealer network – although centrally negotiated large fleet business will still be carefully managed and handled by Kia centrally to both ensure an appropriate presence in those markets and to protect residual values’.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.