April Rules: Hyundai Sets New Sales Record for the Month

[Hyundai NEWS]

Hyundai sold 63,315 vehicles in this country last month, which represented a modest 2 percent increase over April 2012, but it also marked an all-time volume record for the month—and that’s despite demand continuing to outstrip supply for the Sonata, one of the company’s most important entries.
As explained by John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America: “While we did a decent job matching production levels with strong demand for Azera, Elantra and Santa Fe, our U.S.-built Sonata inventories remain among the lowest in the segment, and we continue to work to meet demand for all variants of our fast-turning mid-size sedan. Our new Sonata Hybrid has been a focus model for us though, and here we’ve been able to support a 40 percent year-over-year sales increase with additional production and high consumer interest in our upgraded hybrid powertrain with its industry-leading Lifetime Hybrid Battery Warranty.”
That didn’t stop the Hyundai Elantra from scoring 24,445 sales and a 45 percent advance in the compact segment in April, nor did it slow the momentum of the redesigned Azera, which benefited from 1,409 sales that reflected a 48 percent gain last month. At this stage in the year, sales of Hyundai’s near-premium full-size sedan have jumped up by a whopping 270 percent.
Also garnering a notable sales improvement was the Hyundai Santa Fe family. Backed by a slew of fresh awards for the Santa Fe Sport—including a place on theWard’sAuto World 10 Best Interiors roster and best-in-class honors from the Greater Atlanta, New England and Northwest automotive journalists’ associations—sales were up 10 percent on the strength of 6,940 deliveries.
Hyundai clearly expects more of the same as the year goes on, too.
“April is always a transitional month going into our peak selling season and we were pleased with the strength that both the industry and our award-winning lineup of vehicles exhibited,” said Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of national sales for Hyundai Motor America. “Through the first four months of this year, HMA has shattered its all-time volume mark, and with strong economic signals, improving availability and a historically strong selling season directly in front of us, we fully expect to continue this record-setting trend for the first six months of the year.”