Hyundai, Kia post nearly 50 pct monthly sales increase

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor America said Tuesday it posted a
whopping 48.9 percent increase in monthly sales in the United States in October.

HMA sold 31,005 vehicles, bringing to 373,222 the accumulated sales for the first
10 months this year, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier.
An HMA spokesman attributed the sales increase to:
-- the growing improvement in the brand image of South Korean cars, boosted by
its Genesis sedans
-- Hyundai assurance programs that provide trade-in bonuses, and
-- a gas lock price protection program to weather the aftermath of the Cash for
Clunkers program, which ended in August after a one-month run.
The Genesis won the "Car of the Year" award at the Detroit Auto Show and several
other prizes.
Kia Motors America, Hyundai's sister company, meanwhile, said it sold 22,490
vehicles in the U.S. in October, up 45.3 percent year-on-year.
Kia's accumulated sales figure for the January-October period is 261,060, an
increase of 7.2 percent from a year earlier.
The American automaker Ford, meanwhile, said its October sales rose 3 percent
year-on-year to 132,483.
Hyundai expects a continued sales increase in the coming months, citing imminent
inroads into the world's biggest auto market by new models of Sonata sedans and
Tucson sport utility vehicles.
Helped by the U.S. government Cash for Clunkers program, Hyundai and Kia recorded
a combined record sales of more than 100,000 in August in the U.S. market,
raising their market share to more than 8 percent.
The combined U.S. market share of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group was 7.3
percent in July, up from 5.3 percent last year.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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