GM Inside News Forum - View Single Post - Kia Optima: 2008 YTD Runaway Sales for Fuel Efficient, Affordable Car

Beelzebubba · 07-15-2008, 10:25 AM

I actually like the Kia Optima. It's styling is very conservative, but tasteful, and it actually drives very well. I took my dad to test drive one just last week, an LX automatic 4-cylinder with a sticker of $18k+ can be bought for about $14k right now, thanks to a $3k rebate. There is also a facelift/update for 2009, so dealers are even more motivated to move the '08s. The major car mags and websites all rate it solidly mid-pack or better and it comes with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty- what's not to like about that?

My criticism is aimed not at Kia or the Optima, but at the person who wrote this article/press release!!! Numbers, especially percentages, can be so misleading! If you sell two of 'Car A' in May, then sell three in June- you've achieved a 50% sales increase!

The raw numbers tell the true story. In June 2008- Kia sold 6,865 Optimas compared to 3,106 in June 2007. For year-to-date sales, in 2008 the Optima has sold 28,808 vs. 20,781 for the first six months of 2007. Year-to-date Optima sales have increased by 8,027 units which is an increase of 38.6% as the original post states. But when you put the actual number into perspective, it's hardly significant. Moving 8,000 more mid-size sedans is hardly newsworthy- Honda sold almost 400,000 Accords in 2007 just for comparison.

Looking back a bit further, Optima sales peaked in May 2008 at 8,197 units. You could easily put a negative spin on the June numbers by saying that June Optima sales were down by 19.4% and it would be truthful.

07-15-2008, 10:25 AM	#9 (permalink)
Beelzebubba Walking Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: North Georgia mountains Drives: '06 Mazda3 5-door manual '90 Honda Civic LX autom Posts: 2	Re: Kia Optima: 2008 YTD Sales Runaway for Fuel Efficient, Affordable Car I actually like the Kia Optima. It's styling is very conservative, but tasteful, and it actually drives very well. I took my dad to test drive one just last week, an LX automatic 4-cylinder with a sticker of $18k+ can be bought for about $14k right now, thanks to a $3k rebate. There is also a facelift/update for 2009, so dealers are even more motivated to move the '08s. The major car mags and websites all rate it solidly mid-pack or better and it comes with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty- what's not to like about that? My criticism is aimed not at Kia or the Optima, but at the person who wrote this article/press release!!! Numbers, especially percentages, can be so misleading! If you sell two of 'Car A' in May, then sell three in June- you've achieved a 50% sales increase! The raw numbers tell the true story. In June 2008- Kia sold 6,865 Optimas compared to 3,106 in June 2007. For year-to-date sales, in 2008 the Optima has sold 28,808 vs. 20,781 for the first six months of 2007. Year-to-date Optima sales have increased by 8,027 units which is an increase of 38.6% as the original post states. But when you put the actual number into perspective, it's hardly significant. Moving 8,000 more mid-size sedans is hardly newsworthy- Honda sold almost 400,000 Accords in 2007 just for comparison. Looking back a bit further, Optima sales peaked in May 2008 at 8,197 units. You could easily put a negative spin on the June numbers by saying that June Optima sales were down by 19.4% and it would be truthful.