Hyundai Motor Group’s trio of brands set U.S. sales records across the board in March, with Hyundai and Kia posting their best month ever and luxury marque Genesis posting its best March ever.
The Korean brands benefited from a fresh influx of crossovers, including a record month for the Hyundai Palisade and the best March for the Kia Telluride. Both share a midsize crossover platform with three rows of seating.
Over at Genesis, the arrival of the GV80 midsize crossover has sharply boosted the fortunes of the upstart luxury brand that was held back by its sedan-only lineup before the GV80’s U.S. launch late last year.
Hyundai and Kia have been able to keep U.S. factories running despite industry supply chain issues in recent weeks, as well as maintain a steady flow of vehicles from South Korea, where all Genesis vehicles are made.
At the three Hyundai group brands combined, U.S. sales rose 78 percent in March compared with a year earlier to 144,932, the companies reported Thursday. For the first quarter, combined sales rose 23 percent to 334,902 vehicles. In March 2020, volume dropped sharply midmonth after coronavirus lockdowns were largely adopted nationwide.
Brands: Hyundai, up 115% in March; Kia, up 47%; Genesis, up 210%
Notable nameplates: Hyundai Elantra, up 70% in March; Hyundai Kona, up 169%; Hyundai Palisade, up 133%; Kia Forte, up 38%; Kia Sportage, up 76%; Kia Telluride, up 67%; Genesis GV80, selling 1,636 for the new model
Incentives: Hyundai $2,266 per vehicle, up 2.8% from a year earlier; Kia $2,454, down 37 percent from a year earlier, TrueCar says
Average transaction price: Hyundai $30,281, up 6.8% from a year earlier; Kia $28,604, up 8.5% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar
Quote: “Right now the brand is performing well because we do have great product. We do have a level of inventory that we need to meet consumer demand. And I’d much rather be a couple days-supply short than a couple days-supply too big,” Randy Parker, senior vice president of national sales at Hyundai Motor America, told Automotive News.
Did you know? The new Genesis GV80, the brand’s first crossover, outsold the marque’s three sedans combined in March and outsold the sedan lineup by more than 2 to 1 in the first quarter.