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11/21 Weekend rewind: Did you see these stories on Auto Motion?

November 20th, 2009, 9:15 pm by Matt Degen
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Lots of automotive news and features to get caught up on from this past week, so let’s get right into it. Here’s a recap of what you might have missed in the past days on the Auto Motion blog. Click any link to check out the whole post:

Find out news when we do: Follow Auto Motion on Twitter at Twitter.com/mattdegen

Posted in: New cars • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Irvine’s Kia debuts first American-made car

November 16th, 2009, 6:11 pm by Matt Degen

Irvine-based Kia Motors America has officially built its first car in America.

Kia announced that a white 2011 Sorento crossover was the first vehicle to roll off the line at Kia’s new manufacturing plant in Georgia today.

The West Point plant, called Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, cost $1 billion to make and sits on 2,259 acres.

The site employs 2,500 workers, and Kia says it has created an additional 7,500 jobs in the region when including suppliers.

At full capacity, the plant is expected to produce 300,000 cars annually.

Kia Motors America is a unit of the Korean automaker that is also part of Hyundai.

While other automakers have had a terrible sales year, Kia has continued to grow. The automaker has seen 14 years of consecutive market share increases in the U.S., and recently recorded its best sales quarter ever, thanks in part to selling its smaller, fuel-efficient cars under the “Cash for Clunkers” program.

Through September of this year, Kia sales were up 79.6 percent in Orange County and up 4.6 percent in the U.S., according to data from AutoCount.

Through October of this year, Kia has sold 261,060 vehicle sales nationwide, a 7.2 percent increase from last year.

“The start of production for our first manufacturing facility in the United States further demonstrates our commitment to growth in North America and we are proud to be adding 2,500 jobs to the local economy” B.M. Ahn, group president and CEO, Kia Motors America and KMMG, said in a statement.

In related news:

Posted in: New cars • Sales figures • • | Post a Comment »

Hyundai, Kia see major sales gains in October

November 3rd, 2009, 2:58 pm by Matt Degen

kia-soul-exclaim

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.

Also see:

Posted in: Dealers, deals and for sale • Sales figures • • | 7 Comments »

Hyundai continues to gain momentum, is now No. 6 in U.S.

October 20th, 2009, 4:47 pm by Matt Degen

Hyundai Genesis sedan

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group, whose U.S. headquarters are in Fountain Valley, has been on a tear this year — an impressive feat considering the year’s slumping sales.

According to an article posted today on the CNN Money Web site titled “Hyundai: The Newest Auto Power,” the automaker, when including its Kia brand, has done something in the U.S. this year that no other car manufacturer has: report sales growth.

The article states:

U.S. sales for General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler Group, as well as Japan’s Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Nissan, are all down between 25% to 50% from a year ago. But combined U.S. sales for the Hyundai and Kia brands are up 2.6%.

As a result, the two brands have picked up 2.2 percentage points of market share during the first nine months of 2009. Hyundai and Kia now combine for 7.4% of the U.S. auto market.

That puts Hyundai Motor Group just ahead of Nissan as the sixth-largest automaker in terms of U.S. auto sales. And the Korean automaker is rapidly closing in on Chrysler, which now has just a 9.2% share of the U.S. market.

(Read the entire article on CNN’s site)

For those who follow this blog and auto-industry news, Hyundai’s success should come as no surprise. Both in Orange County and across the nation, Hyundai and Kia posted record sales earlier this year under the Cash for Clunkers program.

(See: Two O.C.-based automakers see record sales in August)

Hyundai, which like Kia also has a design studio in Orange County, is also making significant efforts in the quality of the vehicles it is producing.

(See our interview earlier this year with Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik)

In addition to producing smaller, fuel-efficient cars, Hyundai is now aiming to compete with luxury automakers such as Mercedes-Benz with its Genesis sedan, pictured at top. Next year it will up the ante even more when it brings Equus luxury liner to the U.S.

More on Hyundai:

Posted in: Dealers, deals and for sale • Sales figures • Uncategorized • • | 1 Comment »

Two O.C.-based automakers see record sales month

September 1st, 2009, 12:01 pm by Matt Degen
Hyundai Genesis sedan

Hyundai Genesis sedan

In a day in which several automakers are reporting positive monthly sales reports due to a boost from the government’s Cash for Clunkers program, two of Orange County’s own are reporting their best months ever.

Both Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America and Irvine-based Kia Motors America sold their most cars ever on a monthly basis.

Hyundai reported August sales of 60,467 vehicles, while Kia sold 40,198. Both Korean automakers benefited from Cash for Clunker sales because they make smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

“August was a shot in the arm for the industry, and a great month for Hyundai and our dealers, with all-time sales records for the Hyundai brand, Elantra and Genesis,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.

(See a recent interview with Krafcik regarding Hyundai’s future and role in Orange County.)

On Kia’s side, Alex Fedorak, director of public relations, said, “Everybody had great expectations,” for the month.

More unknown is what’s ahead, now that the popular Cash for Clunkers program has ended.

“I think September represents a big unknown for everyone,” Fedorak said.

(Also see: More like “Clash for Clunkers” at local Kia Dealer.)

Meanwhile, Irvine-based Mazda announced its best sales month of the year with 26,542 vehicles sold, as did Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America with 6,813 sales.

Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp. saw another sales decline, falling 5 percent vs. last August with 5,749 vehicles sold.

Also check out:

Posted in: Dealers, deals and for sale • Uncategorized • • | 1 Comment »

O.C. auto sales continue to slide in July

August 26th, 2009, 3:04 pm by Matt Degen

Orange County’s new-car sales saw another month of year-over-year declines in July, with sales off 37.8 percent, according to data released today.

The Orange County Automobile Dealers Association reported 8,033 new-car registrations last month, vs. 12,921 the year before.

While the sales number was still in negative territory year over year, that number is an increase from previous months. In June, 5,621 new-car sales were reported, while February saw the worst month on record with 5,446 sales, according to the data, which are compiled by AutoCount, and Experian company.

Although the government’s “cash for clunkers” program officially started July 1, the program didn’t kick into high gear until the end of the month, meaning the bulk of sales under the program didn’t happen until this month.

August’s sales numbers are expected to be sharply increased due to high demand from the government program, which gave customers $3,500 or $4,500 off a new car when they traded in an older, less-fuel-efficient model.

Toyota and its sub-brand Scion remained the county’s biggest sellers, with 1,689 vehicles sold, a figure that was off 46.2 percent vs. last year.

In regards to percentage increase, Irvine-based Kia Motors America was the biggest winner, with an uptick of 164.3 percent. The Korean automaker sold 148 of its cars in Orange County last month, vs. 56 in July 2008.

Click here to see OCADA’s full PDF report with complete breakdowns of vehicles sold.

Also see:

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