Kia faces declining sales in May
Hyundai Motor sold 66,121 vehicles in May in the United States, up 2 percent from a year ago, to mark the 10th straight month of increasing total sales in the world’s second-largest automotive market.The Seoul-based company said that the brisk sales of sports utility vehicles (SUV) supported the strong performance. In particular, Santa Fe, Tucson, and Kona all set new May monthly sales records. Santa Fe and Santa Fe XL sales were up a combined 29 percent year on year while those of Kona also jumped 42 percent.The strong SUV performance represented 55 percent of total Hyundai sales. On the car front, Accent sales rose 8 percent and those of Veloster leaped a whopping 40 percent. “The focus on our core models, along with the efforts of our regions and retail partners, strong marketing support and an exceptional product line, continued to grow sales and pick up market share in an industry that we expected to be down in May,” Hyundai Director John Cook said. “Hyundai’s expanding SUV lineup is clearly resonating with customers and with Palisade sales starting this month, our SUV mix is becoming more in line with the industry and represents a big opportunity for Hyundai sales throughout the rest of this year.”In the meantime, Hyundai’s sister company Kia Motors chalked up disappointing results last month as its global sales amounted to 239,059 units, down 3.4 percent from a year before.In particular, Sales in Korea plunged 8.6 percent.However, Kia Motors officials projected that the sales both at home and abroad will get back on track in the near future.“Kia’s global sales are expected to gain momentum in upcoming months, with overseas sales supported by the flagship SUV Telluride and a new small SUV model,” a Kia official said.“And domestic sales are also forecast to rebound with the launches of the enhanced Mohave and K7, otherwise known as Borrego and Cadenza, respectively.” Related storyHyundai utility vehicles cruise in US이 기사를 공유합니다
Hillary Lee
(homin30@hanmail.net)