Hyundai Motor Group’s US sales on rise for 11 months in row

Hyundai Motor Group has seen an increase in its US sales for 11 consecutive months, the South Korean automaker’s US office said Friday.

According to Hyundai Motor America, the Korean carmaker sold 64,200 units in June, about 2 percent rise from a year earlier.

Sport utility vehicles led the uptrend, the company said, recording a 10 percent sales increase on-year and accounting for 53 percent of the total monthly sales. 

By type, 50 percent of SUV sales in the US last month was led by subcompact crossover SUV Kona, followed by Santa Fe at 36 percent. 

The automaker said the overall SUV sales in the US have been growing upon the debut of premium SUV Palisade in the US market in June. A total of 383 units of Palisade have been sold less than in a month since its launch, it added.

Kia Motors America said its June sales in the US also inched up 0.4 percent on-year, mainly due to improved sales of compact crossover Soul and sedan Optima at 11.6 percent and 7.7 percent respectively. 

“Despite the slowing growth of the American automotive market, Kia managed to achieve an accumulated on-year growth rate of 3.8 percent from January to June,” said Michael Cole, chief operating officer of Kia Motors America.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)