Kia Soul sales booming in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
It was expected that Kia Soul will be very popular among car shoppers around the world and first reports coming from Kia indicate that it’s sales are actually booming.
Especially in Europe, where Soul has been on sale since late January and has been in a great demand.
As expected, the funky Kia Soul urban crossover has seen a high demand and by now it’s sales have already passed the 5.000 units mark, which represents a number that is 13 percent higher than initial Kia expectations.
The Soul crossover, which is available in Europe with a choice of 1.6L diesel and gasoline engines that both generate 126 horsepower, has also seen a very encouraging sales start in the US market. It went officially on sale in the last days of February and during those two days of the month 46 Soul have been sold.
During March 2009, the US Soul sales has taken off and crossed the 1000 mark barrier. In March 1246 units of Soul were sold in the US market alone and when we add additional 708 units that were sold in Canada we get a number really close to 2000 units. Not bad for a newly launched car and the first full sales month!
European first quarter (2009) Kia Soul sales:
1. Germany 944 units,
2. France 914,
3. UK 520,
4. Belgium 473,
5. Netherlands 401,
6. Italy 358
The 2010 Kia Soul is expected to continue beating the current economic gloom and will continue attracting thousands of young and “young at heart” customers across the globe. If the demand keeps growing and market conditions do not worsen, Kia should be confident to sell all of it’s 175.000 units the end of the year.
Large number of Souls is being assembled at Kia’s Gwangju (South Korea) manufacturing plant with a maximum capacity of 135.000 units, while the rest ( additional 40.000 units) will be produced specifically for the Chinese domestic market and will come out from Kia’s new China plant.
US number will be off too because most Dealers did not recieve the Soul until the end of march. The Eastern Region was only able to get about 1-5 per dealer depending on the Volume of sales you did. Not to mention that our next shipment is not due until april 20th. So we sold out of everything but the Sport Model in 1 day. We have not sold a Soul in over 2 weeks, not because we can’t but because we do not have any to sell and most people do not want to leave a deposit. So the US sales in theory should be much higher if we had the inventory to sell.
That decal on the Soul in the Pic is sweet too by the way…it has nothing to do with the lady next to the vehicle 😉
he he…Colby 🙂
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Since there are limited shipments and huge demand, have you been building waiting lists then, Colby?
YES YES YES!
I’m so happy!!!!
GO K I A !!!!
OMG! and to think there ppl on waiting lists as well!!! this is awesme!!! Rock On Kia!
Sales are booming here in the Northwest US also! We can’t keep them on the lots. Kia is actually taking stock from the California port to meet the demand here in Washington and Oregon
Yes, as soon as we get the next shipment in towards the end of next week, we will be sold out again by the end of April. We get an average of 4-5 Internet Request a Day on the Soul since the Hampster Commercial hit TV
We had a customer trade in thier Smart Car for a Soul+. he told me they paid 21,000 for a SmartCar Passion. My god what a waste of money on that car.
The Hamster Soul commerical is a HUGE hit for Kia and is having a big impact on Soul sales right now.
It’s even more popular than the dancing sales man from last year.
We had a Customer trade a 2009 Honda Fit for a 2010 Kia Soul Sport….
I want to see more the Model with the Soul..
very nice model! (and the soul is nice too 🙂 )
She reminds me of all the good times I had while in Korea..
Were you a geek in Korea?
I really wat to see this on sale here in UAE! I’ve noticed tht the nos. of small cars has increased recently… Soul has to step in soon!
We were supposed to get the soul in april in aruba, but ’cause of some mishaps, our dealership had to close. If anybody has 2.5 mill, they can easily open a Kia dealership in aruba. Email me if interested. [email protected]
Geek? If Geek meant being a Ville runner…
R. Have you ever been there?
Don’t tell the folks at Edmunds and Jalopnik that someone traded a Honda for a Kia, they would call you a malicious liar!
oh my we are now out of Soul’s until our next shipment. I had a customer drive 3+ hours to buy a Soul Sport in Shadow b/c we were the closet dealer that had one. He told me that he is going to turbo the engine since it is the Beta II and he is going to email me the pics when he is done. His other car is a Cobalt SS Supercharged and he replaced his Blazer SS with the Soul.
I am trading in a Honda FR-v (Edix in japan) for a Soul, Honda has a good reputation but the quality of my last two really let me down. This is my second Kia in the family, we have a Pro_cee’d and its a great car, good enough to make me choose them again for my second car.
Hondas UK factory is closed down until july due to low demand, based on my experiences I can see why.
Go Kia, finally showing the worlds car makers how its done!
Gaz, cool, I second your emotion on that. Go Kia Motors!
We checked out the fit, civic, jetta, and the scions…then we realized the soul was available to look at, we love it, we got the molten sport with auto and sunroof, first tank of gas is over 30 mpg.
Good deal guy. The Soul obviously has better fit and finish than the Civic, Jetta, and the Scions. Motor Trend stated that as well, they just thought the engine was too crude. They did say, “If in the nest refresh, KIA was to heed our engine suggestions. The SOUL would be ahead of the pack.”
sales for the soul are not as good as i hope in my lot but we are selling them OVER sticker now.
Anyone know who the model is with the Soul? Does She have a website?
Himi where did you get this photo from? I am curious as heck to find out where the model is from europe or korea? Its hard to tell..
Ggreg da cha-cha…do you mean the girl or the car? =;))
Greg da cha-cha…do you mean the girl or…ummm…the car? =;))
The Girl of course.. I can take a hundred pictures of souls..
Himi..did you get the picture from a website or did someone in Marketing give it to you? I am also curious about the wild paint job on the Soul and what does it mean?
its korean soul
We’ve got your Soul in Southern California in L.A. and Carson and elsewhere. I drove the car, VERY impressive, and fantastic visibility all around. Solid, and fun to drive, obviously well made. Hey, this ain’t just for the young, you seniors could use this scooter too! My wife is crazy about this car, and she’s got a Honda Accord Coupe, loaded. I’ve got a Sportage, and it’s great too!
I got a dollar for whoever tells me who this girl is!!!!
It’s none other than Charo da chajee, Greg! =;)
Charo was Korean? I just want to who or where Himi got the photo from? The model is smokin hot and I would like to see more or better pictures of her..
Just kiddin’, Charo is Spanish!
Wow When is it arriving in UAE any Idea ?