US: Hyundai and Kia Posts Another Record Sales in May

Kia Motors America (KMA) and Hyundai Motor America (HMA) reported an best-ever all-time record May sales with 52,327 vehicles sold, a 1.8-percent increase over the same period in 2012 and 68,358 units, up 2.0 percent, respectively.

In the Kia side the U.S.-built Optima midsize sedan led Kia’s sales for the 18th consecutive month with 15,368 units sold, and together with Sorento CUV, also built in West Point, Georgia, accounted for more than 40 percent of Kia’s May sales. The Soul urban passenger vehicle also recorded robust monthly sales of 11,420 units. The 2014 Cadenza and Forte sedans – two of the seven all-new or significantly redesigned Kia vehicles scheduled to launch this calendar year – continue to arrive in showrooms nationwide to both critical and consumer acclaim

“At Kia, we are committed to advancing value to new levels of sophistication, and you can see the standout results in the all-new Cadenza, which is the most powerful and technologically-advanced Kia ever in the U.S. market, as well as the 2014 Forte which Motor Trend recently crowned the winner of a head-to-head compact sedan comparison test with some of the industry’s most well-known nameplates,” said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. “New customers continue to discover the Kia brand and our award-winning lineup which delivers a lot for the money with European-influenced styling, cutting-edge technologies, premium amenities and outstanding safety features.”

In the Hyundai side, it was the company’s second-best sales month of all-time, second only to March 2012, and the fastest daily-selling rate ever. 

“May was a high-velocity sales month for us, with the post-Memorial Day frenzy leaving us well positioned for the summer selling season. An across-the-board strengthening of key economic indicators and our strong Assurance Connected Care message drove prospective customers to our showrooms in droves to check out the strongest lineup of cars and CUVs in our history,” said Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of national sales. “Our core products – Elantra, Sonata and Santa Fe – all performed exceptionally well. We’re selling each of these three U.S-built products as fast as we can build them.” 

Elantra sales at 25,090 units were up 33 percent over last May and up 30 percent year-to-date, representing the shift in U.S. production mix to meet surging Elantra demand. Sonata sales remain strong, with demand constrained only by production mix in Alabama. Both Elantra and Sonata are selling at sales velocities significantly higher than their competitors, with incentive levels and fleet mixes significantly lower than competitors. The all-new Santa Fe continues its capacity-constrained torrid selling rate, exceeding the 7,000 unit mark, up 21 percent on a year-to-date basis and in short supply across the country. Demand for the Equus, the industry’s highest customer satisfaction model (according to J.D. Power’s 2013 Customer Satisfaction Index) and Genesis models remains exceptionally strong, with inventory levels low as changeover to 2014 models is underway. This had a significant impact on Genesis and Equus sales in May. 

“Our plants continue to work at maximum capacity to meet record demand levels across our lineup,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “Elantra and Sonata remain extremely hot sellers for us, with that duo exceeding 45,000 combined sales for the first time ever. Our new complimentary Assurance Connected Care telematics program is clearly resonating with customers, with record website traffic and signup activity for all of our telematics services. And our premium customers have a lot to look forward to as the updated 2014 Equus will be arriving in dealerships later this month, joining the high-performance Genesis for a strong one-two punch at the top of our lineup.”