Import Implications
Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. ranked second in the premium full-sized sedan market in the U.S. in Aug. for the first time, surpassing its strong competitors Lexus and BMW.
According to industry sources on Oct. 2, Hyundai Motor sold 185 units of the Equus in Aug., and Kia Motors sold 386 units of the K9 full-sized luxury sedan in the U.S. market. Their combined sales of 571 units were the second-largest following Mercedes-Benz, which sold a total of 2,044 units of the S-Class premium model, the data showed.
Their ranking in Aug. moved up one notch from July when the two car-makers surpassed Lexus to rise to third in premium sedan sales in the U.S. for the first time.
Hyundai-Kia Motors is followed by the Lexus LX with sales of 532 units and the Audi A8 and S8 with sales of 441 units in Aug.
In terms of cumulative sales between Jan. to Aug. this year, the Mercedes-Benz S-class ranked first with 14,038 units and the BMW 7 series ranked second with 6,229 units. Hyundai-Kia Motors came in sixth with sales of 3,094 units.
Hyundai-Kia Motors could hold the second rank in the U.S. market, since the BMW 7 series, which had maintained second place in the full-sized sedan market, sold only 90 units in Aug. Industry sources believe that the decrease in sales of the BMW 7 series last month is largely due to the insufficient supply from the launch of the new 6th generation model.