Nov. 2006 Sales: Hyundai Motor America

[Variance]

Nov. 2006 Sales: Hyundai Motor America

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., 12/01/2006 -- Hyundai Motor America sold 28,417 units during the month of November, down 14.9 percent compared with November 2005.

“Sales declined in November due to our strategy to reduce fleet sales in 2006 as well as the reduced availability of our new Elantra due to continued effects of the strike earlier this year. Improving availability of new models such as the Elantra and Santa Fe will help our year-end close on a very strong note. We are very encouraged by the sales of our new Santa Fe, which experienced a 52 percent increase in sales over last year,” said Mark Barnes, vice president, National Sales, Hyundai Motor America said.

All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by The Hyundai Advantage, America’s Best Warranty. Hyundai buyers are protected by a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, a 7-year/unlimited-mile anti-perforation warranty and 5-year/unlimited-mile roadside assistance protection.

Following is the sales breakdown for November 2006:

CARLINE               NOV/2006     NOV/2005       CY2006       CY2005

    ACCENT                   1,877        1,623       31,976       39,351
    SONATA                   8,371       14,216      139,364      109,512
    ELANTRA                  5,307        6,081       91,409      107,429
    TIBURON                    935        1,206       16,598       19,417
    SANTA FE                 5,217        3,423       55,649       64,253
    XG350/AZERA              1,881        2,311       24,354       15,900
    TUCSON                   3,788        4,523       48,398       56,129
    ENTOURAGE                1,041            0       10,407            0

      TOTAL                 28,417       33,383      418,155      411,991

[source: Hyundai Motor America]

[Variance]

Sales declined in November due to our strategy to reduce fleet sales in 2006 as well as the reduced availability of our new Elantra due to continued effects of the strike earlier this year.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Hyundai's big plan was to increase fleet sales? Now they're backing off of that?

And I suppose their Elantra strike explanation for the sales fall would hold water if:

-They were selling every Elantra on dealer lots.

-The Sonata didn't nosedive in sales.

-The Azera didn't slip a bit either.

[I hope GMRULES again]

This is the biggest drop they've had in a while so I guess they had to come up with a better excuse than the strike in South Korea that they were using for the last few months, or maybe Enterprise has enough Sonatas to last a few years.