Hyundai, Kia's U.S. sales dip 7.5 pct in Aug. on pandemic

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Wednesday their sales in the United States fell 7.5 percent in August due to the new coronavirus outbreak.

Hyundai, its independent Genesis brand and Kia sold a combined 116,736 vehicles in the U.S. market last month, down from 126,224 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data.

Hyundai's sales in the world's most important automobile market slightly fell 8.4 percent to 58,361 units in August from 63,737 a year ago. Kia's declined 6.1 percent on-year to 57,015 last month from 63,737, and Genesis' dropped 23 percent to 1,360 from 1,757, the data showed.

"Despite a down market, our SUVs (such as the Palisade) continue to drive sales and deliver results for us and our dealers," Vice President Randy Parker in charge of national sales at Hyundai Motor America said in a statement.

The carmakers had planned to focus on boosting sales in the U.S. market this year to offset sluggish demand in China, the world's biggest automobile market.

They were originally planning to launch the Hyundai Tucson SUV, Genesis GV80 SUV and G80 sedan, and Kia Sportage SUV later this year, but they are still awaiting shipment to the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From January to August, the brands' combined sales in the U.S. declined 13 percent to 771,623 autos from 886,734 in the year-ago period, the data showed.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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