Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second largest automaker, announced on Thursday the accumulated sales of Morning topped the 1 million unit mark last month, retaking the title of best-selling minicar in the country.

The rolling out of its one millionth car came more than a decade after the carmaker launched the first-generation model in 2004. It marks the first time that any single Kia model has reached the milestone in Korea.

According to the company, a total of 1,001,177 original and redesigned Morning models were sold in Korea from 2004 to November of 2017. Total sales of the first and second generations of the Morning were 378,183 and 561,679 units, respectively, during the cited period. The second-generation Morning was released in 2011 and the third-generation All New Morning in January of this year. As of end-November, 61,315 All New Morning cars were sold, the best seller in its class.

The Morning was developed to replace the Visto, which was released in 1999, with improved driving performance, mileage, interior space and safety features. Morning sales doubled less than two years to 20,000 units in 2006. Sales were accelerated with the release of a facelift model in 2008, with sales surpassing 100,000 units in 2009.

The All New Morning, the first redesign of the model in six years, brought the bestseller title stolen by the Chevrolet Spark last year back to Kia.

By Lee Seung-hoon and Minu Kim

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