December 2018: Hyundai Motor America

[William Maley]

Hyundai Motor America Reports 2018 December and Total Year Sales

• Record-Setting December Sales Total
• Total December Sales Up 3 Percent; Retail Sales Up 4 Percent
• Best SUV Sales Month Ever with More than 35,000 Units Sold
• Highest Monthly Kona Sales Total Ever
• 2018 Hyundai-Branded Vehicles Sales Increase Over 2017

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 3, 2019 – Hyundai Motor America reported December sales of Hyundai- and Genesis-branded vehicles of 65,721 units, a 3 percent increase in comparison with December 2017 and the best December sales month in company history. Retail sales in December were also up 4 percent. Hyundai closed the year strong with total sales increasing in seven out of the last eight months.

2018 Year End Sales Summary
For the full year, Hyundai and Genesis sold 677,946 vehicles, a 1 percent decline in comparison with 2017, while retail volume was up slightly on the year. Hyundai-branded vehicle sales exceeded last year’s total, while Hyundai SUVs set an all-time annual record with more than 300,000 units sold, a 24 percent increase compared with 2017. SUV sales represented 45 percent of total sales, the highest SUV mix in Hyundai history. The Tucson led the way with 142,000 units sold, a 24 percent increase over 2017, making it Hyundai’s second highest volume model behind Elantra. On the car front, Elantra yearly sales were up 1 percent with more than 200,000 units sold and Ioniq was up 35 percent on the year.

Sales by Brand

	Dec-18	Dec-17	2018 YTD	2017 YTD
Hyundai	65,107	61,646	667,634	664,961
Genesis	614	1,948	10,312	20,594
TOTAL	65,721	63,594	677,946	685,555

Hyundai December Brand Highlights
Hyundai-branded vehicle sales increased by 6 percent in December, in large part due to the highest SUV sales month in company history of 35,058 units sold, a 42 percent increase over December 2017. This was the fifth month in a row Hyundai established a new monthly SUV sales mark, while retail SUV sales mix reached an all-time high of 53 percent. Tucson set a monthly record for the 22nd month in a row, with a 32 percent increase, and Kona sold more than 8,000 units, its highest monthly total yet and a 39 percent increase compared with last month, November 2018. Retail sales of the all-new 2019 Santa Fe were also up 46 percent versus the prior year. Sonata (up 2 percent), Veloster (up 54 percent) and Ioniq (up 40 percent) rounded out the Hyundai models with gains on the month.

“Hyundai had a strong close to the year, setting our December sales total record and increasing retail sales for the year,” said John Cook, director, Sales Operations, Hyundai Motor America. “In 2018 we focused on reinventing and expanding our SUV lineup and customers responded in the second half of the year with SUV retail mix exceeding 50 percent for the first time in December. These vehicles, along with our diverse car lineup put us in a position to pick up market share in 2019.”

Hyundai Model Sales

Vehicle	Dec-18	Dec-17	2018 YTD	2017 YTD
Accent	3,830	5,205	29,090	58,955
Azera	2	141	628	3,060
Elantra	15,076	21,350	200,415	198,210
Ioniq	1,275	908	15,076	11,197
Kona	8,319	0	47,090	0
Nexo	8	0	8	0
Santa Fe	11,347	13,146	117,038	133,171
Sonata	8,705	8,508	105,118	131,803
Tucson	15,384	11,633	142,299	114,735
Veloster	1,161	755	10,871	12,658

 

Genesis Model Sales

Vehicle	Dec-18	Dec-17	2018 YTD	2017 YTD
G70	229	0	409	0
G80	305	1,542	7,663	16,196
G90	80	406	2,240	4,398

[Drew Dowdell]

I knew the G70 was a very late intro this year, but ouch.   They made a mistake not leading off with an SUV or 7. 

[riviera74]

Genesis needs a crossover STAT.  Then again, Hyundai itself is not really growing much at all, and in some places has fallen back compared to 2017.