Hyundai Motor Group sets record Oct. sales in U.S.

EV6 [Courtesy of Kia]

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group achieved record sales for October in the United States, mainly led by strong demand for high-priced vehicles such as environmentally-friendly cars, Genesis, and sport utility vehicles.

According to Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. sold a combined 125,693 units in the U.S. in October, up 2 percent from the same period a year ago. The figure includes Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis vehicles.

Hyundai Motor sold 66,529 units in October, up 2.4 percent and Kia 59,164 units, up 1.5 percent. Genesis sold 5,724 units, up 31.5 percent.

The combined sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s eco-friendly vehicles stood at 28,340 units in October, up 29 percent from a year ago. The figure for Hyundai Motor was 12,802 units, up 63.6 percent, and Kia 8,032, down 3.5 percent.

Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) was also high in the U.S.

A total of 7,661 EVs were sold in October, up 118.9 percent from a year ago. Strong sales were led by Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60.

Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a combined 13,150 units of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), up 4.2 percent. The most popular HEV was Hyundai Tucson HEV, with sales of 3,232 units, followed by Kia Sportage HEV (2,581 units), Hyundai Elantra HEV (1,767 units), Hyundai Santa Fe HEV (1,693 units), and Kia Niro HEV (1,622 units).

The combined sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia recreational vehicle (RV) models came to 93,830 units in October, a 5.5 percent increase year-on-year.