Hyundai Sonata was the most-shopped vehicle in May according to data from Compete, a Kantar Media company. Sonata was on more shopping lists (130,000) than any vehicle in the industry, topping perennial leaders like Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Ford Fusion according to Competes analysis of website traffic patterns.
Demand for Hyundai hit an all-time high of 324,000 shoppers on the strength of Sonata and the all-new 2010 Tucson. This drove Hyundais share of market interest (SMI) to 11.6 percent, up from 7.4 percent in Dec. 2009. That growth propelled Hyundai past Nissan (11.2 percent) and closer to Honda (12.9 percent) and Toyota (14.2 percent). Industry-wide, May 2010 shopper volume (2.8 million) was the strongest since February 2008.
Consumers are discovering that the all-new 2011 Sonata builds on the nameplates legacy of value with exciting design, best-in-class fuel economy and outstanding residual value, said Scott Margason, director of product planning, Hyundai Motor America. The combination makes Sonata a top contender in the competitive mid-size category, so we are pleased, but not surprised, by the market reception so far.
Hyundais all-new 2011 Sonata represents a modern approach to the traditional midsize sedan segment by using only advanced four-cylinder engines, emotional design and luxury features offered with Hyundais strong value proposition. The Sonata launched with a new Theta II 2.4-liter gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine and in-house six-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle offers class-leading fuel economy of 22 mpg city/35 mpg highway and 198 horsepower standard. Both hybrid and turbo powertrain options will be available at the end of the year.
We saw interest rising for the Sonata immediately after its introduction around the Super Bowl, and it has stayed red hot ever since,” said Dennis Bulgarelli, director of Automotive at Compete. Not only are we seeing prospects put Hyundai on their shopping lists in record numbers, we’re also seeing Hyundai do a great job converting those shoppers to buyers. Its May sales of nearly 50,000 were 33 percent higher than a year ago, with Sonata sales nearly doubling year-over-year.