Scrappage Scheme Boosts Sales For Kia And Mazda

Tyres & Accessories – With sales reaching 9,772 in September, Kia Motors (UK) Ltd. has hit a new record for the brand in any European market.

No Kia subsidiary or distributor in Europe has ever sold so many new cars in one month throughout the brand’s history and with total sales for the year passing 34,700, the U.K.. performance has overtaken Kia Motors Deutschland – traditionally the biggest market in Europe.

The result gives Kia a 2.66% marketshare in the U.K. and a 3.73% share of the retail market in September – both new records for Kia. Kia’s Picanto was the runaway leader in terms of sales, with 3,395 registered during the month. Rio was hot on its heels with 2,066 sales followed by the cee’d family at 1,592 and Sportage at 792.

Michael Cole, managing director said: "It would be wrong to say that the government’s scrappage scheme hasn’t helped us and in particular Picanto has proved very popular amongst those trading in 10 year old cars. But our September performance and our year-to-date result cannot be attributed to scrappage alone.

"People are looking for attractive, quality products at sensible prices and currently the Kia range provides exactly that," he added.

September proved to be a good month too for Mazda, as Britain became the largest European market for the Japanese brand with a record sales volume of 11,372, and a market share of 3%. Once again, quality, reliability and an affordable price were cited as the reasons for the sales boost.

The September total of 11,372 sales is an increase of nearly 900 units (8.3%) over the previous highest month in March 2008 when the marque achieved sales of 10,497 units. It is also the biggest single month for Mazda since the marque arrived in the U.K. back in the 1960’s. "This has been a difficult year for the industry," said Jeremy Thomson, managing director of Mazda UK. "To put the September sales achievement into perspective it is just 4,488 sales short of the full year volume in 2001 when we took over the business.

"While this is a reason for celebration at Mazda we recognise that the recovery in the car industry is still fragile, we have to work hard to continue our success but we are aiming to finish the year as the third best year ever for Mazda in the U.K."

Ascot Supply Corporation, based in Newnan, Georgia, has selected Mark Paquette for the newly created position of vice president. In this position, Ascot Supply said Paquette will oversee the growth of the company's products, corporate profitability, manage marketing and advertising and assume many other responsibilities.

He will work under the direction of current President David Kessler and officially begin his new role on June 3. Paquette joined the tire and automotive industry in the early 1980s at his father's tire shop, and his contributions to Mohawk Rubber Sales were instrumental in the company's growth and eventual sale to Myers Tire Supply in 2021, according to Ascot Supply. Paquette eventually was given a promotion to the role of director of operations at Myers Tire Supply.