Hyundai, Kia sales slip in April 2024 U.S. light-vehicle sales are expected to drop about 2% in April, reflecting one less selling day than a year earlier and weaker fleet shipments, analysts say.

inset: Kia said it set a monthly record for EV deliveries, 3,623, with EV6 volume jumping 65 percent to 2,051. Sales of the new EV9 tallied 1,572 last month.

May 01, 2024 06:57 AM  
David Phillips 

Hyundai and Kia posted slightly lower U.S. sales in April, though electric-vehicle and hybrid deliveries rose, in a sign the market is becoming more competitive as inventories continue to rise.

Sales dropped 3 percent to 68,603 in April at Hyundai, following two consecutive monthly gains, with the brand's three top sellers posting double-digit declines: Tucson, off 16 percent; Santa Fe, down 11 percent; and Elantra, off 24 percent.

Hyundai said its sales of electrified vehicles rose 26 percent last month, with the Ioniq 5 EV up 59 percent, and overall gasoline-electric hybrid deliveries advancing 29 percent.

Kia reported April sales of 65,754, a drop of 3.6 percent, and its fifth straight monthly decline. The company's car sales were sharply weaker, with deliveries of the K5 midsize sedan dropping to 333 from 5,035 a year earlier.

Kia said it set a monthly EV sales record of 3,623, with EV6 volume jumping 65 percent to 2,051.

Genesis, after a streak of 17 consecutive monthly gains, said sales fell 5.9 percent to 5,508 in April, mainly on lower GV70 volume.

Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Subaru and Mazda will release April sales results later Wednesday, followed by results from Ford Motor Co. on Thursday and Volvo on May 6.

U.S. light-vehicle sales are expected to drop about 2 percent in April, reflecting one less selling day than a year earlier and weaker fleet shipments, analysts say. The market grew 5.6 percent in the first quarter.

While rising inventory, improved selection and more discounts — notably on big pickups and electric vehicles — are supporting retail sales, the market is also being held back by elevated new-vehicle prices, high interest rates and the ongoing deterioration in used-vehicle values that is leaving shoppers with less trade-in equity.

After advancing 13 percent to 15.6 million vehicles in 2023, U.S. sales are projected by analysts and economists to rise more moderately to 15.7 million to 16.1 million in 2024.

"Despite high interest rates and elevated vehicle prices, consumers remain resilient," Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough said. "Sales growth may be sluggish, but growth continues. And we expect these conditions to persist throughout the year."

S&P Global Mobility, citing steady consumer demand and easing supply chain bottlenecks, in April raised its outlook for North American light-vehicle production for 2024 by 1.5 percent to 16 million.
 

SAAR

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales is forecast to reach 15.6 million to 16 million vehicles, according to projections from J.D. Power/GlobalData, Cox Automotive and S&P Global Mobility. The SAAR tallied 15.41 million in March and 15.77 million in April 2023.
 

Incentives

J.D. Power and GlobalData said discounts are expected to fall $204 from March to $2,633 in April, but are up materially over April 2023. The average incentive per light truck rose $1,007 from April 2023 to $2,765 last month, J.D. Power and GlobalData said, while the average incentive on cars totaled $2,129, up $737 from a year earlier.
 

Inventory

Retail inventory is expected to finish around 1.8 million vehicles in April, a 3.2 percent increase from March 2024 and a 40 percent increase from April 2023, J.D. Power and GlobalData said. New-vehicle supplies stood at 2.86 million, up 89,000 from two weeks ago, Cox Automotive said, and 954,000 units higher than a year ago, or 50 percent higher. S&P Global Mobility said retail advertised inventory of 2024 and some 2025 model year vehicles along with pockets of older inventory continue to rise, reaching 2.97 million in April, an increase of 65 percent year over year.
 

Fleet

Fleet sales are expected to total 219,687 vehicles last month, down 14 percent from April 2023 when adjusted for selling days, J.D. Power and GlobalData estimate, with volume accounting for 16.8 percent of total light-vehicle deliveries, a decline of 2.5 percentage points from a year earlier.

Odds, ends

There were 25 selling days last month v. 26 in  April 2023 and 27 in March.

The average new-vehicle retail transaction price was on track to reach $45,093 last month, J.D. Power and GlobalData said, down $1,172 from April 2023, and well below the record of $47,329 set in December 2022.

Average interest rates for new-vehicle loans are expected to increase to 7 percent in April, 20 basis points higher than a year earlier, J.D. Power and GlobalData said.

source: www.autonews.com