Hyundai sales up again

Hyundai sales up again

Hyundai continues its massive surge in sales, its passenger cars up a hefty 94 percent in January compared to January last year.

The fast-rising South Korean brand sold 275 cars last month, up from 142 in January last year.

It continues a healthy trend for Hyundai's passenger car sales, which rose 72 percent last year over 2003.

The brilliant little Getz, New Zealand's 2004 top seller in its class, again led the charge with 75 sales last month.

Meanwhile the widely-acclaimed new SUV, Hyundai Tucson, sold 70 vehicles in January despite restricted supply.

"We expect it will be another month or two before we land enough Tucson to supply all of our orders, and hopefully have vehicles sitting in the showroom ready for new buyers," commented the General Manager of Hyundai Automotive NZ, Philip Eustace.

"We're delighted with the success of that vehicle, and our entire range.

"Clearly New Zealand is ready for the Hyundai package of reliability, safety and value for money."

Other SUVs were popular sellers as well. The mid-sized Santa Fe sold 29, up from 25 last January, while the large Terracan was a star with sales up from six to 23.

The well-equipped mid-sized sedan Elantra sold 44, up from 27 a year earlier, while the larger Sonata went from 19 to 21 and the Tiburon sports coupe doubled sales to six vehicles.

Worldwide the picture is similar. Hyundai exports from South Korea jumped almost 55 percent to 157,131 vehicles in January, from a year earlier.

Total sales were up 41.3 percent to 196,359 vehicles, an all-time monthly high.

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