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<hr>Hyundai Sonata 7th bestselling car in U.S.</h3>

Hyundai Motor Co.'s Sonata midsize was ranked as the seventh bestselling car in the United States last month with sales of 14,216 units.
Sales of the Sonata soared 46.9 percent from 9,676 units in October, climbing 10 places among 176 models sold in the country.

Japanese cars in the same segment swept the top four spots last month. Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry took the lead with 29,707 units sold. Toyota Corolla came next with 23,718 units, followed by Honda Motor Corp.'s Civic with 23,695 units and Accord with 23,548 units. The Chevrolet Impala made by General Motors Corp. and the Altima of Nissan Motor Co. sold 20,357 units and 15,154 units, respectively.

The Pontiac G6 (14,175 units), the Chevrolet Cobalt (13,507 units) and the Chrysler 300 (12,647 units) ranked lower than the Sonata. It is the first time for a Hyundai car to be listed among the 10 monthly bestsellers in the world's largest auto market since the Hyundai Excel compact in the late 1980s, the carmaker said.

"The Excel's cheap price drove its annual U.S. exports to over 200,000 units in the 1980s but its popularity cooled down shortly on low quality. This time, the top 10 result has a different meaning because it shows that the Sonata is highly appreciated for its quality and service," Hyundai said.

However, some point out that the rapid sales increase is due to excessive sales incentives given to agents.

"Currently, the incentive for selling a Sonata in the United States is $2,000, more than 10 percent of the car's price," said Song Eun-bin, a motor analyst at Samsung Securities Co.

"It remains to be seen whether the Sonata can maintain its sales volume after the incentive is lowered to the usual rate of 5 percent."

(sophie@heraldm.com)


By Kim So-hyun




2005.12.28



http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/12/28/200512280014.asp