Hyundai, Kia Upgrade U.S. Sales Target

Hyundai Motor Group (consisting of Hyundai and Kia) said yesterday that it aims to raise its U.S. auto sales in 2011 to 1.06 million units or by 18.2 percent. That figure is up from its previous target of 1.01 million vehicles. Chairman Chung Mong-koo made the announcement during his visit to the United States.

Hyundai is now targeting sales of 624,000 units in the U.S., while Kia is targeting 433,000. In 2010, both companies sold 894,496 units in the United States last year.

Hyundai and Kia are one of the fastest-growing automakers in the U.S. market. They have a combined market share of 10.1 percent as of May, up from 7.7 percent in 2010.

Hyundai will launch a new Veloster while Kia will launch its new Rio to keep the sales momentum going.

[Source: Reuters]

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Hyundai, Kia Combined for Largest Share in Mid-Size Class for May

Long considered the bread and butter of the United States new car industry, the midsize segment was until recently forbidden fruit for Korean automakers. Sure, Hyundai and Kia offered midsize cars, but it wasn’t until their latest models that either brand was taken seriously enough to sell in big numbers.

The tides have changed, with last month marking the biggest milestone yet: The platform-mate Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima combined for 30,155 units, enough to take home the largest slice of the midsize segment. That’s 22,754 Sonatas and 7,401 Optimas. Together, the Korean twins captured the largest share of the midsize sedan segment in March. And it’s likely that this trend will continue through the summer as inventory levels for Japanese-branded cars like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry continue to be low.

Last month’s best-selling midsize sedan was the Chevrolet Malibu, but with the discontinuation of the Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura, the Malibu is the only GM product to still ride on the automaker’s Epsilon architecture. Second in line was the Nissan Altima, but it too doesn’t share a platform with any other North American-market midsize sedan. That leaves the Optima and Sonata, both of which share powertrains, suspensions and platforms.

Certainly, it takes some number twisting to consider the Sonata and the Optima as the combined market share leaders for the midsize sedan segment. But that’s not stopping Korean media from jumping all over the story.

“The ranking signifies that U.S. consumers no long consider Hyundai and Kia to be low-end car brands,” an unnamed Hyundai spokesperson told the Yonhap wire service earlier today.

[Source: Yonhap News Agency]

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Hyundai Veloster 4-Door Coming in the Future?

The new 2012 Hyundai Veloster, which will go on sale in the United States later this year, is an interesting looking hatchback with its one long door on the driver’s side and two shorter doors on the passenger side.

According to a Hyundai executives, the Korean automaker is considering producing a 4-door version of the Veloster for global markets.

Hyundai’s Manager for the Overseas Product Planning Team Eunjoo Shin, says that the company is working on the development of a Veloster embodying a conventional 4-door hatchback.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

[Source: CarAdvice]

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Hyundai Elantra Wins Compact Car Shootout by Cars.com

Hyundai’s 2011 Elantra is generating buzz after coming out on top in yet another comparison of compact cars. The latest contest was the Under 20/Over 35 Shootout conducted by automotive consumer site Cars.com.

The Elantra was up against four other compacts that have made big impressions in the past few months; the Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Kia Forte. The cars all have room for five people, travel at least 35 miles per gallon and have a price less than $20,000.

The 2011 Hyundai Elantra came out on top during the editor’s evaluations of ride comfort and exterior and interior design. To find the winner, graders from Cars.com. USA Today and members of a Chicago-area family evaluated the cars’ performance and features over three days.

[Source: Cars.com]

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Spied: 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe

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Hyundai-Kia Remains Top Asian Carmaker in Europe for Fourth Month

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group cemented its reputation as the top-selling Asian carmaker in Europe for the fourth consecutive month in May.

The Korean automaker sold 58,585 units to 28 countries from the EU and the European Free Trade Association last month to claim a 4.7-percent share of the market and rank 9th overall on the continent, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Monday. Toyota sold 41,626 units to control 3.3 percent of the market, while Hyundai shifted 34,508 vehicles and Kia moved 24,077.

In terms of aggregate sales from January to May, Hyundai-Kia (283,506 sold) maintained a healthy lead over Japan's Toyota (256,935) to keep Hyundai Motor Europe Vice President Allan Rushforth in good humor. Rushforth said in a recent interview that the company aims to claim 5th spot in Europe by 2013 based on overall sales of 500,000 units a year.

Volkswagen currently claims pride of place in Europe, having sold 299,841 vehicles there last month for a 23.9-percent share. It was followed by PSA Group of Peugeot-Citroen, which sold just over half as many cars for a 13.5-percent share. Renault Group was third (8.9 percent) and GM fourth (8.8 percent).

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Hyundai Tucson FCEV Spotted in the U.S.

One reoccurring theme with alternative fuel vehicles has been what people have called "The death of hydrogen," in the past 12 or so months.

I don't exactly follow that considering there still is continuing research AND Shell recently built its first dedicated hydrogen. In addition, manufacturers are still investing into research and development.

Don't believe me?

[Source: Autospies]

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