Orange County Register

Hyundai and Kia, the Korean automakers with their respective U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley and Irvine, are reporting big sales gains for the month of October and positive sales year to date.

Hyundai Motor America announced October sales of 31,005 vehicles, a 49 percent increase vs. October 2008. Year to date, sales were up 4 percent, with 373,222 vehicles sold in the U.S.

Kia Motors America is experiencing similar success in what for most other automakers has been the worst sales year in decades. Kia today announced October sales of 22,490 cars, a 45.3 percent increase from last October. Year to date, Kia has sold 261,060 sales, up 7.2 percent from the period last year. Among Kia’s popular cars is the Soul (pictured above at Kia’s Irvine HQ, where it was designed) which was introduced this year and signaled a new design-focus approach by the automaker.

Other sales news has fostered a spark of hope that the worst of the automotive sales slump is over.

General Motors’ U.S. sales rose for the first time in 21 months, up 5 percent. The Detroit giant that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year reported October sales of 176,632. Year to date, sales are off 34 percent.

Ford reported a 3 percent gain, with 136,583 vehicles sold in October. Year to date, Ford is off 21 percent.

Chrysler, meanwhile, reported a 30 percent sales decline in October, with 65,803 cars sold. Year to date, Chrysler, which also filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, is off 39 percent.

Nissan reported an October boost of 6 percent with 60,115 cars sold (it is off 24 percent year to date), while Toyota saw a 3.5 percent decline for the month with sales of 152,165 (year to date Toyota is off 26 percent).

As a whole,  U.S. light-vehicle sales declined less than 1 percent in October, Automotive News reported.

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