Hyundai Motor and Kia Corporation said their combined sales in the USA jumped by almost 65% to 170,315 units in May 2021, compared with 103,436 units in the same period of last year.
This was the third consecutive record monthly for sales in this market, which has helped South Korea’s leading automotive group rebound from last year’s lows due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The sharp sales increase was driven by their strong and refreshed SUV range.
Hyundai Motor America said its sales surged by over 56% to 90,017 units last month from 57,619 a year earlier, driven by strong demand for the Palisade, Santa Fe, Tucson and Kona SUVs.
The company’s senior vice-president in charge of local sales, Randy Parker, said in a statement “consumer demand across the Hyundai lineup remains strong and we continue to work closely with our manufacturing and supply chain partners to meet this extraordinary demand”.
Kia’s sales jumped by over 75% to 80,298 units in May from 45,817 units a year earlier, led by the Sorento, Sportage and Telluride SUVs, as well as the new Carnival MPV.
Hyundai Motor Group sales in this market rose by 47% to 644,695 units in the first five months of 2021 from 437,929 units a year earlier.