In March, Kia managed to enter the top-ten best-selling car makes in Poland. The Koreans are now in ninth place, while Citroen fell outside the top-ten ranking. According to the Polish Automotive Industry Association (PZPM), Citroen sold just 1,059 cars, while Kia sold 1,214.

For many years, Kia was perceived negatively, but the Koreans have worked hard to change this image. Kia Motors Polska spokesperson Monika Krzesak said the best-selling model was the Cee’d, thanks to the good press it received. Kia also managed to sell a lot of Sportage cars. Moving production to Slovakia resulted in lower costs of transport and lower duties.

Citroen acknowledges weaker March sales, and suggests it may have been a result of selling all of the 2007 models in February, while there is insufficient supply of new cars. However, the French are not planning any changes to the strategy. The top three remain unchanged: Toyota, Opel and Skoda. [Source: PolishNewsBulletin]