Orange County’s South Korean automakers, Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. and Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc., notched another month of higher sales in March.
Hyundai, part of Seoul-based Hyundai Motor Co., said U.S. sales jumped 11% to 40,063 vehicles for the month and were up 13% to 100,012 autos for the first quarter.
Sonata led sales for Hyundai, hitting a monthly sales record of 11,373 for the sedan. The Tucson sport utility vehicle also saw a gain with 4,604 sales.
Kia, which is majority owned by Hyundai Motor and other Hyundai units but run independently, saw its sales rise 8.2% to 25,722 vehicles for the month.
Sales of the Sportage compact SUV lead the gain.
Kia also saw a 6.6% jump to 63,330 vehicles for the first quarter.
