Record-high May 2010 new car sales for Hyundai

Hyundai announces record high May sales, with new Sonata breaking its monthly sales record!

Hyundai Motor Company announced its sales have jumped 33 percent in May 2010, compared to the same month a year earlier. The South Korean largest carmaker sold 49,045 new cars and SUVs in the US market last month, while in the first five months it has sold a total of 204,577 new vehicles.

The most popular Hyundai model in May 2010 was again the hot-looking Sonata sedan, which experienced a 33 percent growth in sales compared to last year. Hyundai delivered more than 21 thousand units of its brand-new Sonata sedan to customers across the USA.

Other Hyundai models that also achieved higher sales than in May last year include Santa Fe SUV with more than 6.000 units sold, Elantra with sales above 9.000 units and Tucson crossover, which saw its sales grow incredible 227 per-cent to 4,395 units. Hyundai Genesis sedan also posted sales gain of 27 percent for a total of 2,480 units.

In the first five months of fiscal year, Hyundai Motor America sold 204,577 units, which represents an increase of 23 percent increase compared to last year.

Early picture of 2011 Ssangyong Korando C hits the web

We were sent some early shots of new Ssangyong Korando C crossover. Codenamed C200, the Korando C was first previewed as a futuristic concept car at the 2008 Pars Auto Show. The hot-looking crossover model previewed the upcoming production model, which was announced to compete against established compact nameplates, such as Toyota Rav4, Hyundai Tucson and VW Tiguan.

Called the Korando C, the model will be the first Ssangyong vehicle to feature a monocoque body. It is said to be available with a brand-new 2.0L diesel engine that generates 181 horsepower. According to the company, the all-new four-cyl. diesel engine is environment-friendly and satisfies EURO V environmental regulations. Two six-speed transmissions (manual and automatic) will also be offered across the range along with a plethora of safety and luxury features.

The official launch date for the Ssangyong Korando C crossover has not been finalized yet, but our sources state that the automaker will put the new model into production in July and commence its sales in South Korea in the third quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, Ssangyong Motor Company announced today that its May 2010 sales ( domestic sales and exports ) jumped by 145 percent from a year ago to come in at 7,028 units. This was the second consecutive month when the troubled automaker sold more than 7,000 new cars.

Much of Ssangyong's rise was fueled by overseas sales which increased by more than 600 percent to about 4,300 units last month. Hyundai's domestic sales, on the other hand, fell more than 20 percent in May 2010.