Sales were up in all regions apart from the Korean domestic market, with Europe recording a 24.5% increase to 170,000 – compared to 137,000 in 2011. North American sales rose from 245,000 to 289,000 with China showing an increase from 190,000 to 221,000. Korea saw sales fall from 248,000 in 2011 to 238,000 in 2012. Other regions increased sales from 384,000 in 2011 to 430,000 this year.

Revenue increased by 9.5% from 22.23 trillion KRW(£12.46bn) to 24.35 trillion KRW(£13.6bn) with operating profit increasing from 1.8 trillion KRW(£1.04bn) to 2.3 trillion KRW(£1.3bn) – representing a return of 9.6%.

The European performance – in a market down by 6.2% compared to 2011 – saw Kia's overall market share increase to 2.5% compared to 1.9 % last year. In the UK sales in the first half were 33,478 – an increase of 22.7% over the first half of 2011 – and represented a market share of 3.17%.

Paul Philpott, president and chief executive officer of Kia Motors UK and Ireland said: ‘In a tough global market these figures are testimony to the enormous investment in new product and an almost obsessive commitment to quality and customer service. At a time when customers might be expected to be cautious it is clear they see Kia as not just a safe investment, thanks in part in Europe to the strong security of our simple-to-understand and fully-transferrable seven year warranty, but a desirable product with enhanced quality, dazzling design and modern, usable, technology delivering low-cost of ownership and sustainable performance.

‘With more remarkable new products coming through the pipeline we are focussed on continuing that growth and I am certain that our end-of-year performance will be just as impressive as these half-year figures,’ he added.