Hyundai Motor America’s third-quarter sales rose 5 percent to 231,088 between the Hyundai and Genesis brands. Strong demand for Hyundai’s hybrid cars, as well as early models coupled with Genesis’ growing lineup of crossovers, boosted sales during the period.
In September, combined Hyundai and Genesis sales of 69,028 were down 8.7 percent compared with last month. Both brands reported impacts from fewer sales days in the month as well as Hurricane Helene.
“Hurricane Helene certainly caused disruption to our business affiliates and partners in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic region,” Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker told reporters by telephone.
“We are very grateful that all Hyundai operations in the area are safe and all of our team members are accounted for,” said Parker.
Ted Mengiste, vice president of operations for Genesis Motor America, expressed similar sentiments about Genesis operations and team members in the region.
Brand: Hyundai brand sales in the third quarter were 210,971, up 5.2 percent compared to 2023. This was the ninth consecutive quarter of growth for Hyundai and the second-best third quarter in the company’s history.
In September, Hyundai sold 62,491 vehicles, down 9.4 percent compared to 2023.
Overall, Hyundai’s hybrid sales rose 36 percent in September. “We saw an increase in hybrid vehicle sales in September, which is a leading indicator of consumer demand for hybrid vehicles,” Parker said.
Hybrid variants of Hyundai’s mid-size Santa Fe and compact crossover Tucson set sales records for the month and quarter, and overall hybrid sales rose 36 percent on the month.
The three-row Palisade also posted record double-digit growth in September and the third quarter.
Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury business unit, recorded 20,117 sales in the third quarter, an increase of 3.6 percent from the same period last year and a record for the July-August period.
In September, year-over-year Genesis sales fell 1.6 percent to 6,537 vehicles. Mengiste said they were pleased with the results considering the shift from Labor Day to August and fewer sales days and weekends compared to previous years.
The main driver of these results, Mengiste said, was the growth of Genesis’ crossover lineup, including the updated mid-size GV80 and the Coupe version, which began shipping in June.
Famous nameplate: Hyundai Elantra, up 21% in Q3; Sonata, up 73%; Palisade, up 44%; Santa Cruz, down 20%; Santa Fe, down 23%; Tucson, up 2%; Ioniq 5, down 1%
Genesis G70, down 32% in Q3; G80, down 28%; G90, flat; GV70, up 19%; GV80, up 24%
Inventory: Hyundai started September with 145,333 vehicles in dealer inventory and had 145,000 vehicles on Oct. 1, according to the company.
Fleet: Fleet sales represented 10 percent of total volume in the third quarter, according to the company.
Do you know: Hyundai Motor uses two East Coast ports: the Port of Philadelphia and the Port of Brunswick in Georgia.
Quote: On Hurricane Helene: “At least 14 percent, or 122 of our Hyundai dealers, were impacted by the storm – meaning they experienced power outages or dealer closures, so this definitely impacted business,” Parker said.