Hyundai, Kia retake Number 1 spot in US subcompact market

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., reclaimed the top spot in the subcompact vehicle market in the United States in April for the first time in four months, industry data showed Monday.

According to Autodata, a US auto research company, the two Korean automakers sold a combined 11,010 subcompact cars in the US last month, up 14.3% from a year earlier. The figure also marked a 10.4% hike from the previous month.

Their April sales outperformed Nissan, which came in second by selling 9,646 Versas in the US last month, according to South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency.

This is the first time that Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have risen to the top spot in the US after losing the leading position to Nissan back in January.

Strong demand for Hyundai Motor's Accent drove the sales up as its high fuel efficiency and enhanced safety features apparently appealed to customers, company officials said.

The data showed that Hyundai Motor sold 8,208 units of the Accent in the US while Kia Motors sold 2,802 units of the Pride, which is known locally as the Rio.

The combined market share of Hyundai and Kia in the US has also been on a steady rise. Their market share stood at 25% last month, which is up from 23% in March and also up from 19% tallied in January.