Hyundai's July U.S. Sales Up 4.1% as Elantra Sales Rise

Hyundai Motor Co.'s (HYMLY, 005380.SE) U.S. auto sales climbed 4.1% last month, marking its best July sales ever, as the South Korean manufacturer recorded strong sales for its Elantra, Azera and Tucson models.

Broadly, U.S. new-auto sales for July are expected to jump 10% from a year earlier, according to car-shopping website Edmunds.com.

Hyundai has capitalized on a lineup of vehicles that are fuel efficient and relatively low-priced compared with models offered by Hyundai's peers. Hyundai has seen its market share jump as it draws more customers from Japan's top auto companies, helping Hyundai to post record monthly sales in recent periods.

Last week, Hyundai reported its second-quarter profit rose 10% from a year earlier as it saw robust overseas sales and favorable exchange rates.

"July was another solid month for Hyundai with surging consumer demand dampened a bit by ongoing shortages of core products like Accent, Elantra, and Sonata," said Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales. "Our 27 day supply of vehicles is lowest of all brands and less than half of industry average inventory levels."

Hyundai reported it sold 62,021 vehicles in July, up from 59,561 a year earlier and 2.8% below June's total.

July had 24 sales days, while the year-ago month had 26 sales days.

Sales of the Sonata-Hyundai's most-popular vehicle in the U.S.- edged up 0.5%. Sales of the Elantra, its second-most popular vehicle in the U.S., climbed 22%, helped by sales of the newly launched Elantra GT and Elantra Coupe. Azera sales soared to 977 units, while Tucson sales were up 17%.