Until recently, the midsize cars were a forbidden segment for Korean automakers. Although Kia and Hyundai are a part of this car segment, until their latest models – Optima for Kia and Sonata for Hyundai automaker – either brand wasn’t taken seriously the idea to sell their cars in big numbers.
But starting with last month, something has changed. The platform-mate Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata combined for more than 30 thousand units, enough to take home a big slice from the midsize segment. That means for 7,401 Optima and 22,754 Sonata cars. Together the two carmakers captured the largest share of the midsize sedan segment in the last spring. The trend will continue this summer as inventory levels for Japanese brands like Honda Accord and Toyota Camry continue to be low.
Chevrolet Malibu was the best selling midsize sedan during last month, but with the discontinuation of the Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura, the Chevrolet Malibu is the only GM product available on the automaker’s Epsilon architecture.
The second place was taken by Nissan Altima, while Optima and Sonata share powertrains suspensions and platforms.
“The ranking signifies that U.S. consumers no long consider Hyundai and Kia to be low-end car brands,” an unnamed Hyundai spokesperson told the Yonhap wire service earlier today.
