Kia posts huge sales growth as boss resigns over recalls

Korea’s fast-growing carmaker Kia Motors has announced just announced a growth in sales of 24.4% for August, compared to August last year. Posting growing sales numbers throughout the recession, the news is overshadowed by the fact that Kia’s Vice Chairman Jeong Sung Eun resigned to take responsibility for the recent recall of four models as the South Korean carmaker, to be replaced by new Vice Chairman Hyoung-Keun Lee. Those Koreans sure take their recalls personally.

According to Bloomberg News, Jeong stepped down on September 3 after Kia’s various worldwide recalls.

Kia is currently recalling about 86,000 vehicles worldwide because of an electrical wiring problem that can cause fires. The recalls include around 36,000 Soul models as well as 33,000 Sorento and 8,000 Mohave SUV models, as well as 8,900 Cadenza sedans. All the vehicles were made from September 2009 to July 2010. The company will also recall a further 18,147 Sorento, Mohave and Soul models in China because of the problems with circuit boards.

Speaking of August sales, Kia’s best-selling model in non-Korean worldwide markets last month was the Cerato, followed by the Rio, the Sportage, the Sorento and finally the Soul. However, the sales growth was largely fueled by the fresh crossover models, namely the Sportage and the Sorento.

Keep track of updates in the Kia buyer guide.