South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group reported record sales in the United States in September on the back of solid demand for sports utility vehicles (SUVs), electric vehicles (EVs), and Genesis.

According to the Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. sold a total of 142,869 vehicles in the U.S. in September, up 18.4 percent from a year ago when they sold 120,642 vehicles. The two automakers posted an on-year sales increase for 14 months in a row.

About 75 percent of the vehicles Hyundai Motor and Kia sell in the U.S. are recreational vehicles, including SUVs. The RV volume in the U.S. has nearly doubled over the last eight years from 38.6 percent in 2015.

Hyundai Motor Group has focused on its RV lineup to target the U.S. market. Its RV models launched in the U.S. were only six in 2015, including Kia’s Sorento and Soul, but they increased up to 18 to include EVs and Genesis models, such as GV60 and GV70.

Hyundai Motor Group has also strategically focused on full-sized SUVs to get ahead in the U.S. market.

Kia Telluride, a mid-to-large-sized SUV, has been catching on among American drivers since its U.S. launch in 2019.

According to GoodCarBadCar, an American tracker of auto sales data, Telluride sold 83,981 units in the first nine months of 2023, coming in third place in the top SUV sales. During the same period, Honda’s SUV Pilot sold 82,397 units.

Eco-friendly vehicles have played a crucial role for the Korean carmakers to achieve all-time high sales in the U.S., where they sold 25,701 green vehicles in September. The latest sales records were up 128 percent from a year earlier.

In September, Hyundai Motor and Kia sold 10,002 EV units, achieving a remarkable 183 percent increase in sales compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, Genesis, Hyundai’s high-end brand, had an exceptional month by selling 6,644 units in the U.S., setting a new record for the highest-ever monthly sales.

By Moon Gwang-min and Han Yubin

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