LOS ANGELES — The focus on crossovers and fresh models paid dividends for Korea's Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, which reported a combined 2.4 percent sales gain in May compared with the same month last year.
For Hyundai and Kia, most of the increases came from new and freshened crossovers such as the Hyundai Kona and Kia Telluride. For fledgling luxury brand Genesis, sales more than doubled thanks to the recent introduction of the G70 compact sedan.
As a group, the three brands sold 128,496 cars and light trucks last month. Hyundai led with 66,121, followed by Kia at 60,062 and Genesis with 2,313.
Brands: Hyundai, up 1.8%; Kia, up 1%; Genesis, up 115%
Notable nameplates: Hyundai Accent, up 7.6%; Hyundai Elantra, down 24%; Hyundai Kona, up 42%; Hyundai Santa Fe, up 29%; Kia Soul, up 8%; Kia Stinger, down 20%; Kia Sorento, down 19%; Kia Telluride, a new crossover, with sales of 6,273; Genesis G80, down 16%; Genesis G70, a new sedan, with sales of 1,447.
Incentives: For Hyundai, $2,562 per vehicle, down 8.7% from a year earlier, ALG says. For Kia, $3,269 per vehicle, down 15% from a year earlier.
Average transaction price: For Hyundai, $23,206, up 4.4% from a year earlier, according to ALG. For Kia, $23,953, up 6.2% from a year earlier.
Fleet mix: For Hyundai, 20%, down from 21% a year earlier, ALG says. For Kia, 23%, down from 24% a year earlier.
Quote: "SUVs bounced back in May 2019 and drove many of those increases for automakers, especially those with new and redesigned models on dealer lots," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
Did you know? Hyundai, which has long suffered with too many car models and not enough crossovers, had its utility vehicle sales hit a record in May with the most sold in a month ever, growing 27 percent compared with May 2018. Crossovers made up 55.4 percent of total Hyundai sales, which is still off the market average of about 70 percent light trucks to 30 percent cars.
