Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, behind light trucks and robust retail demand, posted sharply higher U.S. light-vehicle sales last month compared with April 2020, when the market bottomed out early in the pandemic and showrooms and factory floors were mostly shuttered.
Hyundai Group, the parent of all three brands, has been largely untouched by a chronic shortage of semiconductors that has curtailed light-vehicle production worldwide, allowing the company to rebound strongly more than a year into the coronavirus outbreak.
A 146 percent rise in retail volume drove an overall gain of 128 percent at Hyundai, with total April deliveries of 77,523, the second straight monthly record for the company. Fleet shipments dropped 27 percent and represented just 3 percent of April sales, the company said.
A Hyundai Motor America spokesman said Saturday U.S. dealers had 123,046 cars and light trucks in stock at the end of April, down 13 percent from 141,425 when March close…