By Miyoung Kim
SEOUL, Feb 1 (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors reported strong January sales on Monday and are set to gain further U.S. market share as rival Toyota Motor Co struggles with its biggest ever recall.
Shares in both Hyundai and associate Kia rose sharply in Seoul trade on expectations they will benefit from Toyota's series of recent recalls covering nearly 8 million vehicles globally due to sudden acceleration in some.
'Recent negative newsflows on Toyota point to an opportunity for Hyundai Motor to increase their market share overseas,' said Kong Jeong-ho, an analyst at Prudential Investment & Securities.
Long considered a cheaper alternative to Toyota and other Japanese automakers, Hyundai has been seen as catching up on quality and was the only major automaker to increase sales in the battered U.S. market last year, helped by the popularity of its low-cost models and savvy sales pitches.
'The United States is one of our key markets and we'll continue to focus on such strategic markets with improved products offerings and marketing tools,' a Hyundai spokesman said.
HYUNDAI SHARE TO RISE
Toyota's crippling sales shutdown of eight models will continue at least mid-February, according to sources briefed on the matter, and competitors are moving fast to profit from rising consumer frustration as models that represented more than half of Toyota's 2009 sales are not for purchase.
Ford Motor and General Motors are also rolling out incentives targeting Toyota customers.
'Looking ahead at next six months, Hyundai's market share in the U.S. will rise by 0.2 percentage points and this is based on conservative estimates,' said Michael Sohn, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.
'Longer-term effects will be more significant as we believe Hyundai's Santa Fe and Sonata are set to win some market share from Toyota's Camry and Rav4.'
Hyundai, which aims to boost its U.S. market share to 4.6 percent this year from last year's 4.2 percent, said its new Toyota-targeted incentive programme started on Thursday and would cover 2009-2010 model-year Sonata, Elantra and Elantra Touring models, with no closing timeframe set.
For a graphic on Hyundai vs Japanese automakers' shares
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0110/AS_CRMKR0110.gif
For a graphic on Hyundai's monthly sales and U.S. sales,
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/KR_HYNSLS0210.gif
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/KR_HYUSLS0210.gif
STRONG JANUARY SALES
Hyundai said auto sales in January jumped 50 percent to 269,841 cars from a year ago, as new model launches and reviving South Korean economy, set to grow at the fastest pace in the OECD, lifted domestic demand.
Kia also said its January sales more than doubled to a record 163,238 units from a year ago, also up 0.9 percent from December.
Shares in Hyundai Motor closed up 2.7 percent and Kia Motors , which reported a forecast-beating record net profit last week, shot up 5.6 percent to a four-week high. The wider market finished up 0.3 percent.
Shares in Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor, also rose 1.4 percent.
Hyundai posted a record quarterly operating profit last week as its small cars proved popular with recession-weary buyers and plans to raise sales this year by 11 percent to 3.46 million cars, trucks and buses.
(Additional reporting by Jungyoun Park and Shin Ji-eun; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Lincoln Feast)
((miyoung.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +822 3704 5651; Reuters Messaging: miyoung.kim.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: HYUNDAI SHARES/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
SEOUL, Feb 1 (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors reported strong January sales on Monday and are set to gain further U.S. market share as rival Toyota Motor Co struggles with its biggest ever recall.
Shares in both Hyundai and associate Kia rose sharply in Seoul trade on expectations they will benefit from Toyota's series of recent recalls covering nearly 8 million vehicles globally due to sudden acceleration in some.
'Recent negative newsflows on Toyota point to an opportunity for Hyundai Motor to increase their market share overseas,' said Kong Jeong-ho, an analyst at Prudential Investment & Securities.
Long considered a cheaper alternative to Toyota and other Japanese automakers, Hyundai has been seen as catching up on quality and was the only major automaker to increase sales in the battered U.S. market last year, helped by the popularity of its low-cost models and savvy sales pitches.
'The United States is one of our key markets and we'll continue to focus on such strategic markets with improved products offerings and marketing tools,' a Hyundai spokesman said.
HYUNDAI SHARE TO RISE
Toyota's crippling sales shutdown of eight models will continue at least mid-February, according to sources briefed on the matter, and competitors are moving fast to profit from rising consumer frustration as models that represented more than half of Toyota's 2009 sales are not for purchase.
Ford Motor and General Motors are also rolling out incentives targeting Toyota customers.
'Looking ahead at next six months, Hyundai's market share in the U.S. will rise by 0.2 percentage points and this is based on conservative estimates,' said Michael Sohn, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.
'Longer-term effects will be more significant as we believe Hyundai's Santa Fe and Sonata are set to win some market share from Toyota's Camry and Rav4.'
Hyundai, which aims to boost its U.S. market share to 4.6 percent this year from last year's 4.2 percent, said its new Toyota-targeted incentive programme started on Thursday and would cover 2009-2010 model-year Sonata, Elantra and Elantra Touring models, with no closing timeframe set.
For a graphic on Hyundai vs Japanese automakers' shares
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0110/AS_CRMKR0110.gif
For a graphic on Hyundai's monthly sales and U.S. sales,
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/KR_HYNSLS0210.gif
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/KR_HYUSLS0210.gif
STRONG JANUARY SALES
Hyundai said auto sales in January jumped 50 percent to 269,841 cars from a year ago, as new model launches and reviving South Korean economy, set to grow at the fastest pace in the OECD, lifted domestic demand.
Kia also said its January sales more than doubled to a record 163,238 units from a year ago, also up 0.9 percent from December.
Shares in Hyundai Motor closed up 2.7 percent and Kia Motors , which reported a forecast-beating record net profit last week, shot up 5.6 percent to a four-week high. The wider market finished up 0.3 percent.
Shares in Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor, also rose 1.4 percent.
Hyundai posted a record quarterly operating profit last week as its small cars proved popular with recession-weary buyers and plans to raise sales this year by 11 percent to 3.46 million cars, trucks and buses.
(Additional reporting by Jungyoun Park and Shin Ji-eun; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Lincoln Feast)
((miyoung.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +822 3704 5651; Reuters Messaging: miyoung.kim.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: HYUNDAI SHARES/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.