The Orange County arms of three Asian automakers posted gains in U.S. sales for February, while another, Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., continued its slide.
Cypress-based Mitsubishi, part of Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp., reported a 40% drop in U.S. vehicle sales for the month.
Mitsubishi sold 12,477 vehicles in February, down from 20,624 a year ago.
The automaker is struggling to turn around after growing fast and then getting hit by credit problems and quality issues. Mitsubishi reportedly looked at selling its U.S. arm earlier this year. Part of the decline is due to the automaker’s planned move to decrease its fleet sales.
Takashi Nishioka, chief executive of Mitsubishi Motors in Japan, said at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday that he still is confident about the automaker’s future.
Mitsubishi plans to expand through partnerships with other automakers and with new models, Nishioka said.
Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., which has its U.S. base in Brea, and Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. and Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc., both part of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., posted higher February sales.
Hyundai said U.S. sales jumped 19% for the month, citing strong sales of the Sonata sedan, its best-selling vehicle.
Total sales rose to 33,940 vehicles, up from 28,531 a year earlier.
Kia saw its sales rise 10.1% for the month, with sales of the Sedona minivan up. Kia sold 20,454 vehicles in February, up from 18,586 in 2004.
Suzuki, the smallest of the automakers here, reported an 18% spike in sales for February. The company said the rise was fueled by sales of the XL-7 sport utility vehicle and its Forenza models.
Suzuki sold 6,164 vehicles during the month, up from 5,241 a year ago.
