SEOUL: Kia Motors said annual net profit and sales surged to all-time highs last year as it sold a record number of vehicles amid strong gains in China, Europe and the United States. Kia, maker of the Sorento crossover, earned 2.25 trillion won ($2.02 billion) in 2010, the company announced Friday. That was a gain of 55 percent from 1.45 trillion won the year before. Revenue rose 26 percent to 23.3 trillion won. Global sales volume increased 39 percent to 2.13 million vehicles. For the final three months of the year, Kia said net profit rose 4.6 percent to 631.4 billion won, while sales increased 21 percent to 6.94 trillion won. Kia's highest quarterly profit ever of 666.6 billion won came in the third quarter of last year. Kia said that sales of vehicles produced at its overseas factories surged 86 percent to 730,000 in 2010. Sales in China rose 38 percent.
