Kia Motors America, the U.S. sales arm of South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp., said Thursday that sales of its Cadenza full-size luxury sedan surpassed the 1,000 unit mark for the second time, a development that is widely seen as a successful debut in the U.S.

Kia introduced the Cadenza in the United States in April as part of its efforts to enter the country’s premium car market. Kia sold 1,627 Cadenza units in the U.S. in July, bringing the total number of Cadenza units sold this year to 3,155, according to the carmaker.

The Korean auto company said it sold a total of 49,004 vehicles in July, up 1.9 percent from the 48,074 units it sold a year earlier.

Among them, the U.S.-built Optima midsize sedan was its best-seller for the 20th consecutive month with 13,752 units sold in July, compared with 13,317 units from a year earlier.

“Awareness of our latest new products … continues to rise and elevate Kia’s reputation as a value leader that provides more style, equipment and amenities for the money,” Ahn Byung-mo, CEO of Kia Motors America, said in a comment posted on the company’s website.

Kia said seven all-new or significantly redesigned vehicles are scheduled to arrive in showrooms in 2013, though it did not give any further details. (Yonhap News)