2018 Full Year USA Hyundai Motor America Car Sales

In 2018, Hyundai brand sales increased slightly to 677,946 vehicles but Genesis sales nearly halved. The Elantra and Tucson were the favorite Hyundai models in the US.

© Hyundai

In December 2018, Hyundai Motor America reported sales of Hyundai- and Genesis-branded vehicles of 65,721 units, a 3 percent increase in comparison with December 2017 and the best December sales month in company history. Retail sales in December were also up 4 percent. Hyundai closed the year strong with total sales increasing in seven out of the last eight months.

Hyundai Motor America 2018 Sales

Hyundai Motor America reported the following sales for Hyundai and Genesis branded car sales for December 2018 and the full year 2018:

BrandDec-18Dec-1720182017
Hyundai65,10761,646667,634664,961
Genesis6141,94810,31220,594
TOTAL65,72163,594677,946685,555

For the full year, Hyundai and Genesis sold 677,946 vehicles, a 1 percent decline in comparison with 2017, while retail volume was up slightly on the year.

Hyundai-branded vehicle sales exceeded last year’s total, while Hyundai SUVs set an all-time annual record with more than 300,000 units sold, a 24 percent increase compared with 2017. SUV sales represented 45 percent of total sales, the highest SUV mix in Hyundai history. The Tucson led the way with 142,000 units sold, a 24 percent increase over 2017, making it Hyundai’s second highest volume model behind Elantra.

On the car front, Elantra yearly sales were up 1 percent with more than 200,000 units sold and Ioniq was up 35 percent on the year.

Hyundai December Brand Highlights

Hyundai-branded vehicle sales increased by 6 percent in December, in large part due to the highest SUV sales month in company history of 35,058 units sold, a 42 percent increase over December 2017. This was the fifth month in a row Hyundai established a new monthly SUV sales mark, while retail SUV sales mix reached an all-time high of 53 percent. 

Tucson set a monthly record for the 22nd month in a row, with a 32 percent increase, and Kona sold more than 8,000 units, its highest monthly total yet and a 39 percent increase compared with last month, November 2018. Retail sales of the all-new 2019 Santa Fe were also up 46 percent versus the prior year. Sonata (up 2 percent), Veloster (up 54 percent) and Ioniq (up 40 percent) rounded out the Hyundai models with gains on the month.

“Hyundai had a strong close to the year, setting our December sales total record and increasing retail sales for the year,” said John Cook, director, Sales Operations, Hyundai Motor America. “In 2018 we focused on reinventing and expanding our SUV lineup and customers responded in the second half of the year with SUV retail mix exceeding 50 percent for the first time in December. These vehicles, along with our diverse car lineup put us in a position to pick up market share in 2019.”

Hyundai Model Sales in the US in 2018

Sales per model for Hyundai and Genesis in December 2018 and full year 2018 were as follows:

VehicleDec-18Dec-1720182017
Accent3,8305,20529,09058,955
Azera21416283,060
Elantra15,07621,350200,415198,210
Ioniq1,27590815,07611,197
Kona8,319047,0900
Nexo8080
Santa Fe11,34713,146117,038133,171
Sonata8,7058,508105,118131,803
Tucson15,38411,633142,299114,735
Veloster1,16175510,87112,658

Genesis Model Sales

VehicleDec-18Dec-172018 YTD2017 YTD
G7022904090
G803051,5427,66316,196
G90804062,2404,398

Car Sales in the USA 2018 by Brand

About Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America is focused on delivering an outstanding customer experience grounded in design leadership, engineering excellence and exceptional value in every vehicle we sell. Hyundai’s technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assurance—our promise to deliver peace of mind to our customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide and the majority sold in the U.S. are built at U.S. manufacturing facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.