Kia Australia has notched up 500,000 sales to date since its launch into Australia back in 1988, a year in which just 60 Kia vehicles were sold.

KIA AUSTRALIA has celebrated 500,000 cumulative sales since its launch into Australia 30 years ago in 1988. The Korean car maker is claiming 2018 will be another record year for the brand.

In its first year in the country the brand sold just 60 vehicles, 10-years later that had risen to 12,524 vehicles in cumulative sales. However, the next 10 years saw the brands sales sky-rocket reaching 180,829 units sold by 2008. By the end of 2011 almost a quarter of a million (249,212) Kia models were on Australian roads, a number which doubled over the following six and a half years.

Speaking about the sales figure, Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Damien Meredith said, “Like anything new, it took a while to gain traction in Australia but the acceptance of the brand – and the accompanying acceleration of sales – over the past decade has been quite amazing.

“There is no reason why that growth will not continue and the Magic Million is just over the horizon.”

Meredith said growing the brand was all about focussing on “of stylish design, excellent engineering and quality customer service coupled to outstanding value were the foundations on which Kia’s growth was built”.

“There is nothing mystical about it,” Mr Meredith said. “If you build your brand on strong foundations and take care of your customers by treating them with honesty and respect, you are a long way down the road to success.

“And backed by the confidence imparted by a 7-year warranty, 7-year capped price service and 7-year roadside assist program, new car buyers have been given a legitimate reason to consider Kia.”

Question: Do you think brands like Kia and sister Hyundai will eventually take over from Japanese brands in all of the mainstream small and family car segments?