Kia is the number one best-selling car brand in the UK year-to-date (YTD), according to the latest figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Kia UK Limited sold 32,119 units YTD, with a 7.7 per cent overall market share – a record breaking performance, beating the previous record set in 2019 with 29,954 units. At the end of the quarter, Kia had sold more than 100,000 units year-on-year. This was thanks to comparatively better supply and huge demand for its new products, as well as the continued success of its award-winning model range.

The first quarter began with Kia’s successful January, selling 10,504 units, followed by February’s 3,795 sales. With the new 22-plate change at the start of the month, and the launch of the all-new Sportage, March continued Kia’s success with 17,820 units sold, finishing in second place. Kia’s sales in March grew by 58 per cent year-on-year, in a car market that declined by 14 per cent.

Sales success across the quarter was helped in no small measure by the all-new Sportage, which was the best-selling Compact SUV, as well as being the third best-selling car of any make for both March and YTD, with 4,563 and 8,697 sales respectively.

The electrified Niro continued to see strong demand, ranking as the fourth best-selling Compact SUV and tenth best-selling car of all models with 7,194 sales, YTD. Following exceptional demand, the fully-electric e-Niro ended the quarter as the second best-selling electric vehicle both MTD and YTD, with 1,916 and 3,852 sales respectfully.

Launched at the end of 2021, March also saw the multi award-winning Kia EV6 make its first appearance in tenth place in the EV best-sellers list, with 1,578 sales YTD.

Together, Kia’s fully-electric cars accounted for 18 per cent of total Q1 sales, its highest proportion ever, while Kia’s Eco cars (EV, Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid) represented one in every three cars sold, confirming their continued progress to becoming a leader in electrification. Kia ended the quarter as the third best-selling Eco brand overall.

The Picanto, Kia UK’s smallest car, retained its position at the top of the City Car segment for both fleet and retail sales across March and the quarter, with 2,392 units sold MTD and 3,883 YTD and commanding 24 per cent of its segment market share.

Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia UK Limited, said: “This is an incredible achievement for Kia. The first quarter we have ever been number one in the UK car market. We have perhaps been more fortunate than others with supply, but our Q1 result reflects our best-ever model line-up, including the all-new Sportage and fully-electric EV6. Our success is also as a result of our compelling electrified range, which continues to grow and attract new customers to the brand. I’d like to thank our dealer partners for their continued hard work and support, without whom this exceptional achievement would not have been possible.”

The second quarter of 2022 will see Kia UK add further to its impressive list of electrified cars, with the launch of the all-new Sportage Plug-in Hybrid – the first plug-in powertrain in the Sportage line-up – followed shortly after by the launch of the all-new Niro in quarter three.