Hyundai, Kia boost US sales 3.1% in January

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. sold 93,998 vehicles in the US, up 3.1 percent last month from the previous year earlier due to strong demand for their SUV models.

Robust demand for Hyundai’s Tucson and Palisade SUVs, Genesis’ GV70 and GV80 SUVs, and Kia’s Sportage and Sorento SUVs buoyed the overall monthly sales result, the companies said.

Hyundai’s U.S. sales surged 10 percent to 47,872 units from 43,394 over the cited period, with its Genesis brand sales soaring 29 percent to 3,638 units.

However, Kia’s sales plunged 5.5 percent to 42,488 from 44,965.

According to Randy Parker, senior vice president in charge of national sales at Hyundai Motor America, high levels of consumer interest across Hyundai’s product lineup resulted in record-breaking January sales even during the global pandemic and microchip shortage.

To boost sales in the US, Kia will launch the all-electric EV6 sedan and the all-new Sportage SUV in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, Hyundai will focus on promoting the pure electric IONIQ 5 and SUV models.

The affiliated companies Hyundai and Kia aim to sell a combined 7.47 million vehicles in global markets, up 12 percent from their sales of 6.67 million units last year.