After completely running out of Picanto stock dealers are reporting an improvement in product levels.

In May we reported how the Government Scrappage Scheme completely exhausted dealer stocks of 2009/2010 Picanto.

Although things are not entirely back to normal, dealers can at least fulfill outstanding orders to  those customers who have been waiting patiently.

Kia recorded its best-ever month in September with sales reaching 9,772.
This meant Kia Motors (UK) Ltd acheived a new record for the brand in any European market. In fact 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 UK performance has overtaken Kia Motors Deutschland – traditionally the biggest market in Europe.

Kia’s Picanto was the runaway leader in terms of sales, with 3,395 registered during September alone. In fact things got so desperate that Kia Motors UK had to ask the factory to bring forward a whole years allocation of its 2010 models just to satisfy demand.

However, it wasn’t all down to scrappage as Michael Cole, Managing Director of Kia Motors UK pointed out: “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.

Since then Kia have launched a limited edition Picanto Graphite with a host of extra’s including Graphite Grey paintwork (F.O.C), 14 inch alloy wheels, two tone sporty bumpers and a rear spoiler in addition to standard equipment. The Picanto Graphite is priced for £8,495 on the road.