Hyundai Motor Overcomes 'Corona Adversity', Turns to Sales Growth in the US After 5 Months

Hyundai Motor's July Sales Up 0.6% Year-on-Year
First Year-on-Year Increase in 5 Months Since COVID-19 Outbreak
SUVs Like Palisade and Kona Lead Performance
Kia Also Recovers with Increased Telluride Production

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Hyundai Motor Company overcame the 'COVID-19 setback' last month in its key overseas market, the United States, and succeeded in rebounding. This marks the first time in five months since February, just before the full onset of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), that U.S. sales increased compared to the same month last year.

Hyundai Motor's U.S. subsidiary announced on the 3rd (local time) that it sold 57,677 units in the U.S. last month, up 0.6% from the previous year (excluding Genesis). In particular, the large sport utility vehicle (SUV) Palisade led the growth by nearly doubling sales to 8,404 units, while the compact SUV Kona also saw an 11% increase with 7,077 units sold. ▶Related article page 10

Previously, Hyundai's U.S. sales had recorded double-digit declines year-over-year starting from March, when COVID-19 began to spread widely in American society. In March, sales dropped by more than 42%, falling to around 35,000 units, cutting performance in half. Sales remained around 30,000 units through April, then began to gradually rebound from May. By July, sales approached 60,000 units, switching to a year-over-year increase and showing a clear recovery trend.

This recovery is relatively faster compared to competitors who have yet to reduce their negative margins. Japanese car brands such as Honda (-12.6%), Toyota (-20.7%), and Subaru (-19.7%) still show double-digit declines in the U.S. market as of July.

Meanwhile, Kia Motors also sold 52,479 units in the U.S. market last month, reducing its year-over-year decline to the single digits. Kia's sales recovery was supported by increased production driven by the popularity of the locally strategic SUV Telluride. Telluride sales reached 4,822 units in July alone, surpassing 30,000 units cumulatively this year. Starting in July, Kia increased Telluride production at its Georgia plant in the U.S. from an annual level of 80,000 units to about 100,000 units.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.