Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors saw their market share and sales volume in the U.S. premium car market rise last year thanks to the popularity of their brand-new models Genesis and K9.
The US sales of their mid-sized luxury cars—Genesis, Equus, and K9—totaled 23,878 units last year, up 3.1 percent from a year ago. The Genesis was sold 19,133 units, followed by the Equus with 3,415, and K9 with 1,330.
The combined share of the two Korean car makers in the high-priced car market in the United States, accordingly, rose to 7.2 percent last year from 6.7 percent a year before.
This is meaningful growth, particularly given that the overall sales of the U.S. premium car market fell 3.3 percent to 332,174 units last year. The two Korean auto makers, however, saw their market share in the overall U.S. car market fall by 0.2 percentage point to 7.9 percent in 2014.
In the meantime, Mercedes-Benz kept its No. 1 spot in the U.S. luxury car segment where Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors remained unchanged at No. 6.
