Hyundai makes US breakthrough
Hyundai, Kia combine for lead in American mid-sized cars market
By Kim Tae-gyu
Hyundai Motor Group achieved the top sales of mid-size sedans in the United States last month for the first time since the Seoul-based automaker advanced into the world’s now No. 2 market a quarter century ago.
The group said Sunday that its two flagships of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors combined to sell 30,185 mid-size sedans in May to carve out a combined 19 percent of the U.S. market, slightly ahead of runner-up GM’s 18.8 percent.
The Hyundai Sonata spearheaded the exploits by selling 22,745 vehicles and the Kia K5 also played a big role with monthly sales of 7,401.
``We have taken the pole position in the compact segment in the U.S. But this marks the first time that we ranked first in the mid-size sector, which was previously ruled by Japanese players, since we tapped into the country in 1986,’’ a Hyundai Motor spokesman said.
``This shows that American motorists no longer regard Hyundai and Kia as low-price brands. The strong performances of mid-size sedans are expected to boost sales of vehicles across the board.’’
The U.S. mid-size sedan market has been dominated by such Japanese brands as the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord.
In 2009, three big Japanese firms accounted for the majority of the sales. Toyota assumed 21.8 percent, followed by Honda with 17.5 percent and Nissan with 12.4 percent.
Back then, the market share of Hyundai Motor Group was a mere 9.6 percent for sixth place in the mid-size segment, the second largest division following compact vehicles.
But Korea’s top carmaker increased its figures to 13.1 percent last year to nudge past all non-Japanese competitors and climb to fourth in the 2010 rankings before heading the list in May.
As a result, the overall market share of Hyundai and Kia is expected to rocket this year. On an even more positive note, the two brands have been top in the U.S. compact car sales for three consecutive months through May.
Hyundai Motor Group said that the winning streak is expected to continue for the time being as American consumers keep purchasing its best-selling compact trio of the Avante by Hyundai and Kia’s Forte and Soul.
The Korean alliance’s overall sales encompassing all sectors were 107,426 in May, or 10.1 percent of the total automotive market in the U.S.
Hyundai chalked up a hike of 21 percent from a year ago while Kia’s year-on-year increase was 53 percent so that the producers annexed the market share of more than 10 percent for the first time.
Only four rivals were ahead of Hyundai and Kia, namely GM, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota.