Hyundai Motor’s U.S. sales drop over 10 percent

Aug 31, 2015

Hyundai Motor Co.’s sales in the United States dropped over 10 percent on-year in May, far underperforming its European and Japanese rivals armed with price competitiveness from their weak currencies, industry data showed Wednesday.

According to the data, South Korea’s No. 1 automaker sold 63,610 cars last month, down 10.3 percent from a year earlier. This compares with a 1.6 percent growth in auto sales in the U.S.

The decline is due in part to a lack of new models and its policy not to push for aggressive price cuts there.
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, fared well in the U.S. compared with its bigger affiliate by selling 62,433 cars last month, a 3.9 percent rise from a year earlier.

This marked the largest sales ever recorded in a single month for the company.

The combined market share of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors fell to 7.7 percent in May from the previous month’s 8.3 percent.

Aided by low crude oil prices that led to more demand for SUVs and pick-up trucks, U.S. automakers saw their sales expand on their home turf with General Motors and Chrysler posting 3 percent and 4.1 percent gains in sales last month, respectively, according to the data.

Japanese and European carmakers also benefited from their weak currencies. Sales of Honda and Volkswagen rose 1.3 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively, the data showed.

Source: The Korea Observer