Hyundai U.S. Sales Increase in October

Wednesday, November 3rd 2004, 11:14 am

By: News On 6

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. (AP) _ Hyundai Motor America said Wednesday that its U.S. vehicle sales rose 14.6 percent in October, helped by strong demand for its Sonata sedan and sport-utility vehicles.

The U.S. arm of Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. sold 33,111 vehicles last month, up from 28,878 units in the year-ago period. Hyundai's car sales rose slightly to 23,122 from 22,982 last year, while truck sales soared 69.4 percent to 9,989.

The company said its results were boosted by higher sales of its Santa Fe SUV, which rose 51.7 percent to 8,946, and the introduction of its new Tuscon SUV, which sold 1,043 units in October. Sales of Sonata cars gained 35.6 percent to 8,589, the company said.

In the year-to-date period, total vehicle sales were 351,785, up 3.7 percent from a year earlier after adjusting for an extra selling day this year. Truck sales advanced 10.8 percent to 95,523 units, while car sales added 1.3 percent to 256,262.