Hyundai, Kia deliveries reach all-time highs in U.S.

A slightly down December didn’t stop the Hyundai brand from having its strongest year to date in 2015 after moving 761,710 vehicles in the U.S., a 5 percent gain from 2014.

Hyundai has posted record yearly sales for six consecutive years.

The news was just as good at stablemate Kia, which tallied its best annual sales ever with 625,818 vehicles. Kia’s 2015 sales boost was good for a 7.9 percent gain from the previous year.

Together, Hyundai-Kia sold 117,749 vehicles in December, a 7 percent increase year-over-year. In 2015, the group sold 1,387,528 units, a 6.2 percent jump.

Kia, which closed 2015 with eight straight months of sales records, saw December sales jump 19 percent on the strength of the Optima, Sorento and Soul.

Sorento sales rose 33 percent in December, with sales of 12,872 units. The Soul saw a 22 percent boost after Kia sold 12,159 vehicles. Optima sales were up 16 percent on sales of 13,682 units.

Hyundai’s December was a little slower than the previous year as sales slipped 1.5 percent. Elantra sales dipped from 18,860 in December 2014 to 14,242 last month.

The Tuscon was a bright spot for the brand in December after recording a 167 percent sales increase. Hyundai sold 8,311 Tucsons last month.

The Hyundai Sonata was the brand’s highest seller in 2015, with 213,303 units sold, a 1.4 percent dip from 2014. Kia’s top seller was the Optima after it moved 159,414 units; sales were relatively flat compared with 2014.

Derrick Hatami, vice president of national sales for Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement: “Hyundai once again experienced a record year and the CUV segment proved to be the star.”