HMA posts record April sales due to recovering economy

 WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor America announced all-time record April sales on Tuesday as the world's biggest economy continues to stabilize after the worst recession in decades.

   HMA sold 61,754 units, up 40 percent from a year earlier. The figure for the first four months of this year is 204,374 vehicles, up 31 percent from 155,532 during the same period last year.

   Hyundai's sister company, Kia Motors America, said its April sales rose 56.7 percent to 47,074 units, an all-time monthly record, driven by sales of more than 10,000 units each of the Sorento crossover and Soul sport utility vehicle.

   Thirty-four percent of Hyundai vehicles sold in April achieved 40 MPG fuel economy ratings, HMA said.

   "Our unwavering commitment as the industry leader in fuel efficiency with four vehicles achieving 40 MPG standard this year has helped overcome escalating fuel prices and drive our continued growth," said Dave Zuchowski, HMA's executive vice president.

"Further, we believe our innovative Assurance Trade-in Value Guarantee program will take the uncertainty out of future resale values and bolster consumer confidence in our brand."

Sales of new fuel-efficient Elantra and Sonata sedans drove the trend.

 "April's strong performance was led by the hot-selling Elantra that registered 22,100 units sold, up 129 percent from a year ago,"

HMA said. "Its Alabama sibling, Sonata, saw sales climb 17 percent over April last year resulting in a combined 71 percent of total Hyundai volume. This marked the first time Hyundai sold more than 20,000 units in the same month of two different models."

   The Genesis luxury sedan continued its 22nd consecutive month of year-on-year sales increases, with 2,648 vehicles, and Hyundai's new flagship premium luxury sedan, the Equus, sold 222 vehicles.

   The Equus has exceeded 1,000 total sales since its December launch, continuing to outperform the 5-percent share target in the premium luxury car market.

   Competing with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 and Lexus LS, the Equus began hitting showrooms in December with HMA targeting sales volume of up to 3,000 this year.