The January car sales figures are in. Only three car companyies increased sales over the same period in 2008: Subaru, Kia and Hyundai.
Cars and light truck sales are what is being measured. Subaru’s cars are down, like most of the rest of the struggling auto industry, but their January 2009 sales of light trucks (in their case that means the Subaru Outback and the Forester) went up (from January 2008) by over 2,000 vehicles.
Experts say that consumers will choose safety over price in vehicles that are rated higher and are just a little bit more expensive. The 2009 Subaru Forester was a MotorTrend pick of the year, and was also on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s “top safety pick.”
News from LightTruckBiz.com announced that the The Car Book lists four Kia models on their 2009 ”Best Bets” list. One of the four is the Kia Borrego, which is likely one of the models that put Kia into the positive sales percentages for January 2009. The top sales list doesn’t break down which exact vehicles are sold - only that it is the light truck series put them in the black.
Hyundai, who is affiliated with Kia, is the third car company who, despite the poor economy and lagging car sales, actually had a good January. Hyundai’s car sales and light truck sales were both up over the 2008 numbers. Why? An article from the New York Times on February 13 explains that Hyundai’s marketing campaign, which appeals to consumers’ fears and uncertainty about job loss is likely the answer. Motor Trend’s analysis of the Hyundai line of vehicles is quite positive: Eight of twelve of the Hyundai’s listed had excellent safety ratings (five stars out of five). Two of the remaining four hadn’t yet been tested and the other two still had decent ratings at four of five.
Good news for the three car makers. It looks as if they will be weathering this economic storm.
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