Hyundai, Kia US Sales Fall 11.5% in May

Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors are struggling in the U.S. market. Their combined sales in the U.S. market fell 1.9 percent in April and 11.5 percent in May, continuing on the downward spiral.

According to the data compiled by Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America on June 2, the combined U.S. sales of Hyundai-Kia Motors in May decreased 11.5 percent on-year to 118,518 units. By brand, Hyundai Motor sold a total of 60,011 units in the U.S. last month, down 15.5 percent compared to a year earlier, while Kia Motors sold 58,507 units, down 7 percent on-year.

Hyundai Motor sold a total of 10,600 Tucson units in May, up 43.8 percent compared to a year ago. However, sales of Hyundai Motor’s other flagship models – the mid-size SUV Sante Fe, the mid-size Sonata sedan and the Electra compact sedan – continued to show poor performance. Kia Motors also saw sales of all other models decrease. The Kia Forte compact sedan, sold as the K3 here, was the only model that showed positive growth of 19.1 percent.

The combined market share of the two companies stood at 7.8 percent in May – Hyundai Motor with 3.9 percent and Kia Motors with 3.8 percent, down 1 percent point from 8.8 percent at the same period a year earlier.