Automaker earnings have been mostly impressive so far, and Kia is no different. Reuters reports that the Korean automaker has posted earnings of $890 million for the first quarter of 2011, up 91 percent compared to the $466 million profit from Q1 2010. Overall revenue for the quarter was $10 billion, up 37 percent year over year. Kia's healthy earnings come as sales rose 30 percent to 619,089 units. The automaker fared especially well in South Korea, China and the United States, where new models like the Optima and Sportage have really taken off.

Kia's profit surge comes one day after Hyundai announced earnings of $1.7 billion. Hyundai shares are up 44 percent on the year, while Kia shares are up 16 percent.


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