US Demand
Despite unfavorable exchange rates, sales of Hyundai-Kia Motors hit a record high in the U.S. market.
According to industry sources, the group sold a total of 682,102 cars in the U.S. during the first half of this year, a 3.1 percent increase from a year earlier. The figure reached a record high since last year when the company sold 661,847 units.
It was largely due to the fact that the Elantra, badged as the Avante in the Korean market, saw its sales growth of 19 percent to 118,992 units in the first half of this year before the rollout of its new model thanks to the expansion of sales incentives. Sales of the Genesis, which made it to the final list of Car of the Year in North America, reached 13,574 units, a 75 percent increase from last year, as it put up a good fight in the premium car market. During the first half of the year, Hyundai Motor’s cumulative sales in the U.S. came to 371,150 units.
Kia Motors, Hyundai Motor’s smaller affiliate, also contributed to its performance achievement. It sold 310,952 cars, seeing the best-ever result in the first half of the year. In particular, the sales of the new Carnival model was increased a whopping 476 percent from the same period a year ago to 20,608 units in the first half of the year. The Sportage, which is about to launch a new model, also saw its sales growth of 20 percent to 23,955 units.
Recently, Kia Motors ranked first among 21 non-premium brands in the 2015 Initial Quality Study (IQS) of U.S.-based global market research company J.D. Power and Associates, while Hyundai Motor ranked second. As both companies have held the top spots in the rankings for two consecutive years, Hyundai-Kia Motors is putting up a good show.