Sales of Kia Rom Auto, the importer of the Korean brand Kia on the local market doubled in the first six months of the year against the same period of last year.

"In the first six months of the year, we sold 900 vehicles, and by the end of the year we intend to sell 2,000 units, a 69% increase against last year, when we sold 1,180 vehicles," said company representatives. "For next year, we plan to sell 3,000 units," they added.

Currently, Kia has a 24-dealer national network, to which dealerships in Alexandria, Botosani, Suceava, Targu Jiu, Focsani and Ploiesti will be added.

The investments in these new outlets are estimated at 500,000 to 2 million euros, depending on several factors, such as the size of the project or the price of the land. The investment in promoting Kia models for this year stands at about one million euros, according to company officials.

Kia Rom Auto launched the new Sorento version in Romania at the end of last week; the launch of the Carens and Carnival models will follow by the end of the year.

Almost all Kia vehicles are sold in leasing; with the buy-back system having become available in March this year.

"We have customers who bought a Sorento six months or a year ago and who want to use the buy-back system, for the new model," stated Dan Chitaru, the company's general manager.

Sorento, one of the best selling Kia models, was launched on the European market at the end of 2002, when some 120,000 units were sold on this market. In Romania, the local importer sold 258 Sorento models last year, with the only model with higher sales being Sportage, with 300 units.

The new Sorento is available in two engine options, 2.45-litre CRDi and a 3.3-litre engine running on petrol, which can develop a maximum capacity of 170 and 241 HP respectively.

Currently, only the diesel option is available o